Khedira to miss Supercoppa

Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri has confirmed that Sami Khedira will miss next week’s Supercoppa Italiana clash with Lazio in China.

The German midfielder was stretchered off just 25 minutes into Saturday’s 2-0 friendly defeat at the hands of Marseille after succumbing to a hamstring injury.

It is the second muscle injury that the 28-year-old has suffered since joining the Turin club from Real Madrid earlier this summer and there is speculation that he may not recover in time for the start of the Serie A season.

“It’s a pity about Khedira’s injury,” said Allegri. “He was doing well and we’ve lost an important player for the Supercoppa.”

Juventus will also be without Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli for the Lazio clash and the defensive duo were badly missed as the Italian champions endured a miserable night at Stade Velodrome.

Having fallen behind to a freak goal from Romain Alessandrini, they lost defender Stephan Lichtsteiner to a red card for dissent just before the break and their fate was sealed nine minutes from time when Abdelaziz Barrada volleyed home Marseille’s second of the night.

Allegri, however, insisted that the performance was better than the result.

“We played well in spells tonight,” he said. “And now we’ve got a week to get ready for the Supercoppa.”

Those sentiments were echoed by midfielder Stefano Sturaro, who impressed after being brought on in place of the injured Khedira.

“The red card changed the course of the game,” he said.

“We had to dig deep against a team who are ahead of us in their pre-season.

“We need to focus upon the positive aspects of these friendlies and carry them into the new season.”