Kenan Yıldız is back. The Turkish international returns to the Continassa today to begin his preparations for the new season — a moment the club considers almost the equivalent of a new signing, given how central he is to everything Spalletti is building. The welcome, however, will be warm rather than rushed. Juventus are taking no risks whatsoever with the player who matters most to their 2026-27 ambitions.
A Gentle Re-Entry — No Immediate Group Work
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Yıldız will not immediately join the rest of the squad in full group training upon his return to Turin. The Juventus medical and technical staff have designed a soft re-entry programme for him — a gradual, differentiated schedule of sessions that protects him from any unnecessary risk as his body readjusts to the demands of professional training.
The caution is entirely understandable given the physical difficulties that have shadowed his recent months. Yıldız had concluded the previous season carrying a troublesome patellar tendinopathy, followed by a calf problem — difficulties that limited his availability and his best performances even during the World Cup, where Turkey’s early exit meant he returned to Italy earlier than most of his teammates.
A Priority Managed With Patience
Spalletti regards Yıldız as one of the fixed points of his project — a player already capable of performing at the highest level who must now be given the conditions to express himself consistently across a full, demanding season. The club is in no mood to accelerate his recovery and risk another campaign disrupted by physical problems.
Once back in Turin, the medical staff will assess his knee carefully and plan his workload accordingly. The question the club most wants answered in the coming fortnight is whether Yıldız will be ready to start the season at full intensity — or whether a more cautious, gradual build will be required heading into the opening Serie A fixtures.
The First of Several Returns
Yıldız is the first of the six Juventus players who represented their nations at the World Cup to return to the Continassa. Teun Koopmeiners, Jonathan David, Gleison Bremer, Weston McKennie, and Francisco Conceição will all follow in the coming days, each on their own individually tailored timeline calculated from the date of their country’s elimination.
His return is the moment Spalletti and the entire club have been waiting for. The pre-season is already under way, the transfer window is producing results — Çelik confirmed, Pellegrino imminent, Dibu Martínez negotiations entering their decisive phase — and now, with the number ten back in Turin, the final and most important component of the new Juventus is returning home.
