Juventus defender Merih Demiral has been ruled out for at least 10 days after suffering another injury setback.
Turkey international Demiral was taken off 69 minutes into Wednesday’s 3-0 win over Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League.
He was making his return to Juve’s starting line-up after two games out with a minor injury sustained against Cagliari on November 21.
The Italian giants confirmed on their official website on Thursday that Demiral has suffered a low-grade lesion of the right thigh.
The 22-year will miss this weekend’s Serie A derby with Torino, as well as next week’s trip to Barcelona in the Champions League.
When you’ve got that secret handshake down! @Cristiano @mdeligt_04 #JuveDynamo #JuveUCL #ForzaJuve pic.twitter.com/ZuStwsqGo4
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Juve, fourth in Serie A after nine matches, also have games against Genoa, Atalanta, Parma and Fiorentina to come before the end of the year.
Demiral has been used nine times in all competitions by head coach Andrea Pirlo this season, including five starts in Serie A. The reigning Italian champions have won two and drawn three of the league games the centre-back has appeared in the starting XI.
He has averaged 61.31 passes per 90 minutes in the league this season, compared to 68.91 for Leonardo Bonucci, 80.06 for Giorgio Chiellini and 82.5 for Matthijs de Ligt.
Demiral is Juve’s top-ranked defender in terms of headed clearances, though, averaging 2.75 per 90 minutes – Bonucci the next highest with 2.29 – and his average of 2.16 interceptions is behind only full-back Danilo’s mark of 2.89.
Bonucci made his return against Kiev following a spell out with a thigh injury, while Chiellini has not featured since early November, leaving De Ligt as Juve’s only fit senior centre-back at one point.
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