Juventus head coach Igor Tudor provided some updates on the condition of his defenders Federico Gatti and Lloyd Kelly.
Another crucial fixture is awaiting the Turin-based giants on Sunday, as they must beat Udinese to remain ahead of the queue in the razor-tight race for the fourth Champions League spot.
Napoli, Inter and Atalanta have already booked their places in Europe’s elite club competition next season, while the Bianconeri are still vying with Lazio, Roma and Bologna for the final ticket.
Juventus squad depleted for Udinese clash
Unfortunately for Tudor, he arrives for his last home fixture of the season with a depleted squad, especially due to the suspensions of Pierre Kalulu, Khephren Thuram and Nicolo Savona.
Teun Koopmeiners has also suffered an injury relapse, while Gatti is still struggling to regain his best condition.
The Italian defender made his return from injury with a brief cameo against Lazio last weekend, but he’s still training separately.
Federico Gatti not ready to start
Tudor reveals that Gatti can only feature for a small portion of the contest, while hinting that Kelly is set to start after recovering from his injury.
“Kelly trained with us, Gatti, on the other hand, will only be able to play as much as he did in the last game,” explained the 46-year-old in his pre-match press conference via the official Juventus website.
“The absences we’ve had are not trivial, after all the matches we’ve played, I’ve always had a good feeling: the team has always done its best and given everything they could considering the circumstances. Now we are more aware of what we need to do, and our game has improved.
With his defensive department pared down to the bone, Tudor is expected to shift from his usual 3-4-2-1 system to a less familiar 4-4-2.
