Coach Max Allegri says Daniele Rugani 'could play tomorrow' against Sampdoria, but defends his decision to limit his time: 'He's so young'.
The Bianconeri are climbing back up in the standings but will face a determined opponent tomorrow as they visit the Blucerchiati at 19.45 GMT.
“Sampdoria played a good derby, in fact an excellent one for a full hour, and they emerge from two good games against Palermo and Lazio,” Allegri told the Press.
Coach Max Allegri says Daniele Rugani 'could play tomorrow' against Sampdoria, but defends his decision to limit his time: 'He's so young'.
The Bianconeri are climbing back up in the standings but will face a determined opponent tomorrow as they visit the Blucerchiati at 19.45 GMT.
“Sampdoria played a good derby, in fact an excellent one for a full hour, and they emerge from two good games against Palermo and Lazio,” Allegri told the Press.
“We'll come into an enthusiastic environment. They scored 27 goals, only 4 less than Juventus, who conceded 28. When they play at home they have substantial quality.
“They have Eder, [Luis] Muriel, [Carlos] Carbonero, [Roberto] Soriano, and then there's [Antonio] Cassano, who returned to a good condition and can create play and put all of his teammates in a condition to score.
“So this game no less than all the others is going to be complicated, because we're up against a team with good technique.
“I haven't chosen who to field ahead of the defence, I'll make my decisions. But it's certainly going to be a player fit for that role, I won't get creative in that sense. It's either that, or we play with no defensive midfielder at all.”
Recently the agent of Daniele Rugani complained that Juventus didn't give him enough playing time.
“I don't know what Rugani's agent said, I can only reply that he wouldn't be doing his job if he didn't ask for him to play.
“But I'm the Coach and my own job involves knowing when Rugani has to play. He's a young kid and he'll be part of the January transfer window until the end. I think he'll be part of Juventus too, for many years.
“But I think Juve already have some important players in defence, like [Giorgio] Chiellini, [Andrea] Barzagli, [Leonardo] Bonucci, or like [Martin] Caceres, who did well after almost six months without playing time.
“Rugani did well too in the derby. I might play him tomorrow.
“As for Hernanes, as I already said, it's the whole team that wasn't doing well at first, because the results weren't coming in.
“There's no point, and it's unfair, in blaming it all on one player. Besides, Hernanes played a great game in Manchester when Juventus won in the Champions League, it was a delicate match and he proved he's got personality.
“He played quite well in the derby, especially when he shielded the defence after the injury of [Sami] Khedira. And I'm sure that's his role for as long as he still plays football.”