One of the brightest of bright spots in the two wins since Igor Tudor took over as manager at Juventus has been the play of Turkish starlet Kenan Yildiz. The soon-to-be 20-year-old has scored what proved to be both of the game-winning goals in said victories, with his overall performance level much higher than what we saw in the final weeks of the Thiago Motta era.
But there could be something that potentially slows down that form a bit.
According to multiple reports out of Italy on Wednesday, Yildiz could be in doubt for Monday’s trip to the Tardini to face Parma the day after Easter. That is as a result of a knock he picked up in training earlier in the day. But where it gets tricky is the reporting after that, with Sky Sport Italia describing it as a “contusive trauma” to the right thigh and is suddenly a doubt to face Parma, while ilbianconero.com has a little bit different of an update about Yildiz’s status for Monday’s game, saying he has a good chance of playing and that the injury is very much a minor one.
Either way, the next couple of days and into the weekend will be telling as to whether or not Juventus will have their No. 10 available when they face a relegation-threatened side for the second consecutive matchday.
Continassa: #Veiga non si è allenato a causa di una sindrome influenzale, mentre #Yildiz ha subito nel corso dell’allenamento un trauma contusivo. Koopmeiners, McKennie, Perin e Mbangula hanno proseguito col lavoro differenziato. #Juventus
— Giovanni Albanese (@GiovaAlbanese) April 16, 2025
Other pieces of news to come out of training at Continassa: Renato Veiga did not take part in Wednesday’s team activities due to the flu, while midfielders Weston McKennie and Teun Koopmeiners — who both came off in the second half of Saturday’s win over Lecce with potential issues — as well as backup keeper Mattia Perin and winger Samuel Mbangula trained away from the group. Perin and Mbangula missed the win over Lecce due to injury.
But the big development is that Yildiz may or may not be a doubt to face Parma.
Could Juventus beat Parma without Yildiz in the lineup? Yeah, probably. But the simple fact that he has started out life under Tudor quite well means you just want to see it continue because that just increases Juventus’ chances of finishing in the top four and making the Champions League next season.
So here’s to hoping that the reporting from the gang over at ilbianconero is more on the money and that a minor knock is just that and that there’s still four days worth of training allows Yildiz to recover in time to try and keep the good times going.
