Paulo Dybala and Alvaro Morata were both forced off in Juventus' win over Sampdoria on Sunday and have been ruled out of the next two games, including Chelsea's visit to Turin in the Champions League on Wednesday
Sunday 26 September 2021 17:54, UK
Juventus duo Paulo Dybala and Alvaro Morata have been ruled out of the Champions League group-stage clash with Chelsea this week because of injuries.
Dybala suffered a thigh problem in Sunday's Serie A win over Sampdoria - withdrawn in tears after just 22 minutes and having scored his side's opener, while Morata also came off with eight minutes of normal time remaining.
Manager Massimiliano Allegri confirmed both players will miss the tie at Juventus Stadium and the subsequent derby with Torino, but he hopes to have them back after the next international break in early October.
"They will be neither against Chelsea nor Torino," he told Sky in Italy following the 3-2 win at Juventus Stadium. "After the derby there will be a break, we hope to have them after the break.
"This is part of the season. Now it happens to us then, later on, it will happen to someone else. It's part of the game. You have to be good at playing these games even with absent players."
Juventus and Chelsea are joint-top of Group H, and the news will come as a boost to Thomas Tuchel's side, who have their own concerns regarding the fitness of right-back Reece James, having suffered a twisted ankle on Saturday.
Dybala and Morata both scored in Juve's opening 3-0 win away to Malmo two weeks ago, while Chelsea beat Zenit St Petersburg 1-0 thanks to a striker from Romelu Lukaku.
Chelsea's Reece James has twisted his ankle, according to manager Thomas Tuchel, and the defender will be assessed to determine its full extent in the coming days, ahead of the trip to Turin.
James had been involved in a collision with Jack Grealish and attempted to play on, but had to be replaced by Thiago Silva after 29 minutes of the 1-0 home defeat to Manchester City on Saturday.
Tuchel said: "He twisted his ankle and it was very painful for him. I have no other news on him at this stage but let's see how he is in the next few days."
