Matuidi to miss Champions League tie with Tottenham

Massimiliano Allegri has ruled Blaise Matuidi out of Juventus’ upcoming Champions League clash with Tottenham after he limped out of Sunday’s emphatic win over Sassuolo.

France midfielder Matuidi picked up a “muscular problem” and was withdrawn in the 26th minute of the 7-0 victory at Allianz Stadium.

Allegri confirmed the 30-year-old will be forced to miss the first-leg visit from Spurs on 13 February, for which Paulo Dybala is also a doubt.

Despite the setback, Allegri remains upbeat over the Bianconeri’s impressive form after presiding over their most complete performance of the season.

“Blaise Matuidi seems to have a muscular issue, but we have players like Claudio Marchisio and Dybala who are getting closer to fitness. Matuidi won’t be there against Tottenham,” Allegri told Mediaset Premium.

“Many players are beginning to reach their ideal form.

“It was important to win so we could definitively break away from [Serie A’s] chasing pack, who are now 14 points away.

“There is no secret to our success, we simply have lads with good values who want to win what feels like their first Scudetto. We want to stay on Napoli’s tails going into the sprint finish.”

 Hat-trick hero #JuveSassuolo   #FinoAllaFine pic.twitter.com/kbPJDF8Ihz

— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) February 4, 2018

Gonzalo Higuain could prove particularly important over the season’s latter stages as his first Juve hat-trick helped see off Sassuolo.

The out-of-sorts Neroverdi had earlier shipped four first-half goals and were left with only two points from their last five league fixtures.

“This was easily the worst performance since I’ve been here,” Sassuolo boss Giuseppe Iachini said at his post-match press conference.

“It was a total disaster. I am very angry because this has never happened to me before.”