Of the insane number of injuries Juventus have suffered this year, one of the most significant has been the one to Kenan Yildiz.
It goes without saying, of course, that losing one’s best player for an extended period of time will mess your season. Yildiz has been out since the first game of the season with a foot injury, depriving Juve’s attack of one of its most dynamic elements. Indeed, the forward line has been one of the team’s biggest problems, and the return of the young Turk will likely go a long way toward alleviating that issue.
We now have an idea of just when that return will be.
According to a report from Tuttosport, Yildiz will be back in December. The player himself confirmed as much while accepting the Bulgarelli Number 8 award on Monday.
The report goes into a little bit more detail, saying that he’ll likely return to individual training at Continassa in the near future. The team isn’t expected to rush him back, but instead gradually increase his workload with an eye on ensuring there are no setbacks.
The report says the team is eyeing the December 14 match against Monza as Yildiz’s most likely return date, with stretch goals being the December 6 game against Udinese or the Europa League match against Hapoel Be’er Sheva in between.
The measured approach is the right one—remember, when the season began there were still worries about that troublesome knee injury that had been bothering Yildiz since the spring. One silver lining of his current injury is that it’s enforced more rest for that knee, so hopefully it will be a non-issue once he does return.
How he’ll be utilized by Luciano Spalletti is another question. Fortunately, Yildiz is versatile enough to serve as either a full-on winger or a more tucked-in support forward in a two-CAMs-behind-the-striker look. The idea of him and Kerim Alajbegovic working in the attack at the same time is particularly tantalizing. Until then, Alajbegovic and Jérémie Boga will continue to work on the left side of Juve’s attack.
It’s fortunate that one of Juve’s most-missed players is on his way back to the pitch. Getting Yildiz back healthy will be a huge shot in the arm for a team in desperate need of one.
