One of the best things to come from the initial rush of national team call-ups was the simple fact that some of Juventus’ best players weren’t going to be out on international duty and would get the chance to work with new manager Luciano Spalletti for an extended amount of time before Juventus’ next game.
It took all of about a week for things to change.
Thanks to an injury in the France camp to Real Madrid’s Eduardo Camavinga and his troublesome hamstrng, Juve midfielder Khephren Thuram has suddenly found himself thrust into international duty by manager Didier Deschamps. Who knows what kind of roll he is about to play considering it’s such short notice, but Thuram is now on national team duty rather than being back in Turin and working closely with Spalletti as he actually gets a good amount of time on the training field with the reduced squad that is not out on international duty.
Thuram joined up with the rest of the France squad on Wednesday evening and will be available for Thursday night’s World Cup qualifier against Ukraine at The Parc des Princes in Paris.
It was seen as a very positive development for Thuram to not be initially called up by Deschamps because he has battled some minor injuries and had a few close calls with late fitness tests over the last month or so. Giving him some extended time off and focus on training and only training. Maybe it turns out where the only Thuram who logs minutes with France during the international break is Marcus and not Khephren, but the fact that he’s simply going on such short notice is less than ideal.
Let’s just hope that in a few days we’re not sitting here and wondering if he will be able to face Fiorentina because of the wonderful luck that Juventus seem to have with players coming back from international duty unscathed.
