It has been barely a fortnight since the new season began. Two Serie A matches played, seven points available, four collected. And already, on the morning of Tuesday 8 September, Juventus find themselves in a state of injury emergency that would test the depth and resilience of any squad in European football.
The latest and most significant blow is Manuel Locatelli — the captain whose meniscus injury, sustained against Milan on Sunday, is heading towards surgery. The J-Medical examinations have confirmed a meniscus lesion with a recovery timeline of at least three months. The operation will almost certainly be performed in Lyon by Dr Bertrand Sonnery-Cottet — the same surgeon who has now operated on Thuram, Gatti, and Bremer in recent seasons. The target is to have Locatelli back shortly after the November international break — the same window that Yıldız is targeting for his own return from foot surgery.
Boga: A Hamstring Fear — Definitive Verdict Expected Today
The Locatelli confirmation arrived alongside a worrying new development on Tuesday morning. Jérémie Boga — one of only two attacking options currently available on the left flank, following Yıldız’s absence — has reported negative physical sensations after the Milan match. A hamstring flexor problem is suspected. The definitive verdict from the J-Medical examinations is expected on Tuesday. If confirmed, Boga would be absent until after the international break — a timetable that would coincide roughly with the period that Locatelli, Yıldız, and potentially others are all unavailable simultaneously.
The Midfield Is Reduced to Bare Bones — and Hojbjerg Was the One Who Got Away
The central midfield situation is the most acute positional emergency. Available: Douglas Luiz and Koopmeiners — two senior players, both of whose futures at the club were the subject of active exit conversations throughout the summer. Behind them: Owusu, the Next Gen midfielder promoted to the first-team group, who has yet to make a senior competitive appearance. Sarr, who has completed only limited training since his arrival from Tottenham and hopes to join the full group later this week. And — returning from muscular fatigue — McKennie, whose positional versatility could allow Spalletti to adapt him to a central role in a genuine emergency.
The transfer market footnote that will generate the most uncomfortable retrospective analysis: Juventus made soundings for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg of Marseille during the summer. Those conversations were not pursued to a conclusion because the urgency of completing the Woltemade loan from Newcastle redirected Carnevali and Massara’s attention and depleted the financial capacity to act. There is no guarantee Hojbjerg would have been available or affordable — but the unconsidered second central midfielder now appears, in the light of three simultaneous absences, as the window’s most consequential missed opportunity.
Locatelli’s Own Words — the Reassurance That Proved Premature
After the full-time whistle against Milan, Locatelli himself appeared on television with an ice pack on his knee and offered reassurance: “I only have discomfort — the ice pack should not cause alarm.” The subsequent swelling told a different story. He went directly to the J-Medical. The verdict arrived quickly. And the verdict was the opposite of reassuring.
He had felt a torsion of the knee during the match — something that prompted Spalletti to prepare his substitution, even as the captain chose to play through the discomfort in a match where every available player was needed. Douglas Luiz eventually came off instead. By the time the final whistle blew, Locatelli’s condition had worsened visibly.
Cambiaso and McKennie: The Returns Spalletti Desperately Needs
In the midst of the crisis, two potential partial remedies are approaching. McKennie — sidelined with muscular fatigue and absent from the matchday squad against both Parma and Milan — is expected to return to training this week, with the away trip to Sassuolo on Sunday a realistic target for his reintegration. Cambiaso, who missed the Milan match entirely with an ankle sprain, is also reported to be improving and is targeting the Sassuolo fixture. Both returns, in the current context, feel less like expected squad contributions and more like emergency lifelines.
The international break that follows Sassuolo will provide a fortnight’s pause — the breathing space that might, just might, allow the squad’s full picture to clarify. Before it arrives, the nine matches in 22 days that Spalletti described in his pre-season interviews as the season’s opening challenge must be navigated with a squad that, as of Tuesday morning, is operating at the very outer limits of its available resources. The new season is two weeks old. It has already demanded everything.
