Juventus have issued their official medical bulletin on the final day of the transfer window — and the news on both fronts, whilst containing some reassurance on Yıldız, confirms the full gravity of Ekhator’s situation.
Yıldız: Surgery Completed Successfully in Augsburg
The operation to repair Kenan Yıldız’s fractured left foot — specifically an osteosynthesis procedure on the fracture of the base of the fifth metatarsal — has been completed successfully. The surgery was performed at the Augsburg Hessingpark Klinik by Dr Martin Jordan, with Juventus club doctor Dr Marco Freschi in attendance. The club’s communiqué was explicitly reassuring on the outcome: “The procedure was entirely successful and the player will begin his rehabilitation programme from tomorrow.”
The recovery timeline remains as previously indicated: approximately three months, with a target return around the November international break. Giorgio Chiellini had already provided public reassurance following the Europa League draw — “it is not a cruciate, not a tendon — he will return at 100%” — and the clean success of Monday’s procedure provides the medical validation of that assessment. Yıldız is out, but he is coming back.
Ekhator: Grade Two Semitendinosus Tear — Approximately Two Months Out
The more immediately alarming news concerns Jeff Ekhator. Following Sunday morning’s muscle problem in training, the J-Medical examinations conducted on Monday have produced a significant diagnosis: a medium-grade lesion of the semitendinosus muscle in his right thigh. It is a considerably more serious injury than the low-grade biceps femoris problem that disrupted his pre-season — and one that will keep him sidelined for an extended period.
The club has confirmed that Ekhator will undergo further examinations in two weeks to establish the precise recovery timeline — a standard protocol for this type of injury, reflecting the difficulty of predicting the exact healing curve at this early stage. The estimated absence, however, is approximately two months — meaning the 20-year-old could miss the entirety of September and October before any return to training is realistic.
For a player who signed for €18 million rising to €18 million with bonuses as recently as early July, the injury record across his first months at the club has been deeply unfortunate: first the hamstring problem in pre-season, now a semitendinosus tear before he has played a single competitive minute. The talent is not in doubt. The physical luck, so far, has been desperately poor.
A Season That Has Already Tested the Squad’s Depth to Its Limits
On the final day of the window, Juventus’s injury list includes Yıldız (three months), Ekhator (two months), McKennie (muscular fatigue), Thuram (patellofemoral syndrome, Lyon consultation pending), and Cambiaso (ankle, timeline unclear). The transfer activity of the closing hours — Sarr confirmed, David to Atletico advancing, Woltemade the striker target — takes on added significance in this context. Spalletti is not merely building for ambition. He is building against necessity. The window closes tonight. The squad’s resilience will be tested from the very first weeks of what, on this evidence, is already a demanding and unforgiving season.
