Juventus held their penultimate training session of the week at the Continassa on Thursday afternoon — two days before Sunday’s home fixture against Milan — and the key news from the session is a double update: encouragement on Woltemade, ongoing uncertainty on Cambiaso, McKennie, and Sarr.
The Good News: Woltemade Completes His First Full Session with the Group
The headline development from Thursday’s training is the sight most Juventus supporters have been waiting to see since his medical on Tuesday: Nick Woltemade completing his first full session alongside his new teammates. The German striker — who arrived at the Continassa only days ago after the deadline-day deal with Newcastle — has begun the process of integrating himself into the group’s patterns, rhythms, and tactical requirements. Given the short timescale involved, his availability for Sunday remains subject to Spalletti’s final assessment — but the physical readiness is confirmed. Whether he starts, comes off the bench, or is managed conservatively through his first competitive week will be the manager’s call.
Three Still Working Apart: Cambiaso, McKennie, and Sarr
The session also confirmed the three players who continue to work on individual programmes separate from the main group.
Andrea Cambiaso is still managing the ankle sprain sustained against Parma on Saturday. His inclusion in the squad for the Milan match remains “strongly in the balance” — the Italian international’s convocation by no means guaranteed. Given that his injury has already cost him potential starting minutes in the opening two fixtures, and that his relationship with the starting eleven has been complicated by Çelik’s positive impact at left-back, the pressure on him to recover quickly is both medical and positional.
Weston McKennie is dealing with muscular fatigue — the same problem that has kept him out of first-team training across the international break period. He was already doubtful for Parma and did not feature in the starting line-up. His potential contribution against Milan — whether from the start or off the bench — depends on the final training session on Friday and the medical staff’s assessment of his readiness.
Pape Matar Sarr is still working through the recovery programme addressing the physical problem he arrived with from Tottenham — an issue that meant he had barely trained with De Zerbi’s squad in the weeks before joining Juventus. The club are proceeding with appropriate caution to avoid an unnecessary setback in his first weeks. His availability for Sunday is uncertain but not impossible; his readiness for the Europa League opener against NEC on 17 September is considered the more realistic short-term target.
Zhegrova Returns to Group — a Training Update That Changes Nothing
Edon Zhegrova returned to full group training on Thursday after the physical fatigue that had kept him working separately for several days. His return to the training field is noted — but changes nothing about his medium-term situation. He remains outside the UEFA Europa League squad list, continues to train separately in some sessions, and is awaiting a concrete offer from the market — with Saudi Arabia’s window the most available remaining route to a departure. His return to group training is operational rather than strategic: there is no path back into Spalletti’s plans at this club, but maintaining his fitness while a transfer solution is found is in everyone’s interests.
Friday Decides — Spalletti Awaits His Final Indications
One further training session on Friday morning will provide Spalletti with his final set of physical data before naming his squad for Sunday. Cambiaso, McKennie, and Sarr’s situations will all be re-evaluated after that session. The manager has consistently spoken of waiting for the last possible moment before committing to selection decisions involving players with injury doubts — and Sunday’s match against Milan is precisely the kind of occasion on which having even one additional player available could prove decisive.
