Juventus captain Chiellini damages ACL

Giorgio Chiellini has damaged the anterior cruciate ligament of his right knee and must undergo surgery, Juventus have confirmed.

The experienced centre-back will begin treatment in the coming days after tests at J-Medical revealed the extent of the injury, which was sustained during training on Friday.

Juve have not offered a timescale on the recovery of the 35-year-old, who scored the only goal of the game in last week’s 1-0 Serie A victory over Parma.

“During today’s training, Giorgio Chiellini sustained a sprain of his right knee,” Juve said in a statement.

“The diagnostic tests performed at J-Medical showed a lesion of the anterior cruciate ligament.

“It will be necessary to have surgery in the coming days.”

During today’s training session, Giorgio Chiellini sustained a sprain of the right knee and lesion of the anterior cruciate ligament.

It will be necessary to have surgery in the coming days.https://t.co/j7wsxKMe4G pic.twitter.com/Aof16CyBiA

— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) August 30, 2019

The news is likely to mean Juve will keep Daniele Rugani and Merih Demiral, who had each been linked with moves away from Turin before Monday’s transfer deadline.

Chiellini has made 384 league appearances since joining Juve from Roma back in 2005.

An eight-time Serie A champion, he was a key part of the defence under former coach Massimiliano Allegri, although muscle problems restricted him to just 22 starts in the top flight last season.

In April, the Italy international told DAZN he expected to play “for another year or two” and then take up a backroom role at Allianz Stadium.

Juve face Napoli on Saturday and could consequently hand Matthijs de Ligt a competitive debut.