Juventus issued their official medical bulletin on the morning of Wednesday 3 September — and the news across both items it contained was uniformly unwelcome. The Thuram operation has been performed and was successful; the recovery timeline extends into 2027. And Juan Cabal, who was already outside Spalletti’s plans and had been in the departure queue all summer, has now compounded his difficult situation with a muscle injury of his own.
Thuram: Surgery Performed in Lyon, Rehabilitation Begins Thursday
The official Juventus communication confirms that Khéphren Thuram underwent a chondroplasty procedure this morning for the chondropathy of the patella in his right knee — in plain terms, a surgical treatment of the cartilage wear on the posterior surface of the kneecap that has been causing him pain since last spring. The operation was performed by Dr Bertrand Sonnery-Cottet at the Hôpital Privé Jean Mermoz in Lyon, with club medical director Dr Luca Stefanini in attendance. The procedure was entirely successful.
From Thursday, Thuram begins his rehabilitation programme. The expected recovery time is approximately four months — meaning the French midfielder will not return to competitive action until 2027. As a direct consequence of his absence, he has been excluded from Juventus’s UEFA Europa League squad list. His place in the midfield emergency has been addressed — at least in part — by the arrival of Pape Matar Sarr from Tottenham, who was brought in specifically to cover the void created by Thuram’s prolonged unavailability.
Cabal: Low-Grade Semimembranosus Tear — Out for Several Weeks
The second item in the bulletin concerns Juan Cabal — and it lands with a particular cruelty given the Colombian’s already difficult situation at the club. Following a muscle problem sustained during Wednesday morning’s training session, Cabal underwent diagnostic examinations at the J-Medical centre. The results confirm a low-grade lesion of the semimembranosus muscle in his left thigh — a different muscle and a different leg from the injury that has affected other players in recent weeks, but an injury nonetheless.
The expected absence is several weeks at minimum. For a player who has been entirely outside Spalletti’s project all summer, offered repeatedly to Atalanta, Roma, and other clubs, and whose departure Juventus sought in permanent rather than loan terms — an obstacle that prevented any deal from materialising — the injury is an additional complication to an already unresolved and uncomfortable situation. He was not part of the Europa League squad list and will not be available for the Milan match on Sunday.
The Injury Toll — September Begins with Four Confirmed Absentees
With Thuram now formally in the post-operative phase and Cabal injured, Juventus’s casualty list for the start of the season reads as follows: Yıldız (foot fracture, post-operative, returns approximately November), Thuram (knee surgery, returns 2027), Ekhator (semimembranosus tear, 45-50 days), and Cabal (semimembranosus tear, several weeks). Four players unavailable simultaneously, across attacking midfield, central midfield, and defence — and the most important match of the early season, Sunday’s home fixture against Milan, arriving in five days.
