Initial reports revealed that Juventus will lose its new player Denis Zakaria for at least two weeks due to a muscle injury, which means that there are nine Juve players who will be out of the field in the Italian Cup semi-finals with Fiorentina. Denis Zakaria limped off with a suspected thigh problem just 35 minutes into the game with Empoli, adding to the Juventus injury crisis.Juventus had announced that newcomer Caio Jorge had also injured the cruciate ligament, leaving him out for at least 6 months.The Bianconeri won 3-2 against its host Empoli yesterday evening at the "Castellani" stadium, thanks to Moise Kean's header and Dusan Vlahovic's double. However, they also saw Zacharias limping in the early stages with an ice pack strapped to the top of his left thigh.According to Gazzetta dello Sport, it is believed to be a problem with the adductor muscle that requires further tests to analyze the extent of the damage, but an initial diagnosis takes about two weeks. This means that nine players from Juventus are out of play in Wednesday's Coppa Italia semi-final against Fiorentina. Federico Chiesa and Caio Jorge will miss the following season for knee surgery, while Weston McKinney has been on the treatment table for at least two months with a double metatarsal fracture in his foot.
The other players are Paulo Dybala, Alex Sandro, Daniel Rugani, Federico Bernardeschi, Giorgio Chiellini and Zacharias suffering from muscle injuries. The huge number of muscle problems within Max Allegri's team will inevitably raise questions about training and treatment methods for his team, and it will be a race against time for them to be ready for the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Villarreal, after the first confrontation ended 1-1 in Spain.
There is a special shortage in the midfield, where only Arthur Milo, Manuel Locatelli and Adrien Rabiot remain. Of the nine players currently out, only Dybala will likely have a chance to appear against Fiorentina.