Juventus dealt further Lichtsteiner blow

Juventus defender Stephan Lichtsteiner has been forced to undergo further medical tests and will miss the Champions League clash with Sevilla on Wednesday.

The Switzerland international returned to full training this week after being forced to sit out the defeat to Lazio following complaints with his breathing, which led to him being substituted last week against Frosinone.

Juve had hoped Lichtsteiner would be available to play a part against the Europa League holders, but the club have since confirmed he is to visit a specialist to help discover the cause of the problem.

“Stephan Lichtsteiner will miss out on tomorrow evening’s Champions League Group D fixture with Sevilla,” a Juventus statement released on Tuesday read.

“Despite returning to the group and training regularly yesterday, the Swiss defender will now be sent to undergo further tests and specialist cardiology consultancy on the advice of the Juventus medical team.

“These will aim to fully ascertain the symptoms that caused him to depart last Wednesday’s Serie A fixture with Frosinone at half-time.”

The news follows Juve’s decision to suspend Martin Caceres from first-team duties following his car crash on Monday.

The 28-year-old was deemed to have committed “a serious violation of his contractual obligations to Juventus” and was hit with a fine and suspension for “damaging the image of the club”.

Juventus and Sevilla both won their opening group-stage fixtures.