Vlahovic out of Juventus clash with Milan

Dusan Vlahovic will miss Juventus’ trip to Milan in Serie A this weekend and is also a doubt for the Champions League game at Aston Villa, head coach Thiago Motta has confirmed.

Vlahovic returned from the international break with a muscle problem in his left thigh, and the manager, after he confirmed the Serbian’s absence for Saturday’s game at San Siro, was asked about his chances of playing on Wednesday at Villa Park.

“I don’t know. He definitely won’t be there tomorrow. We hope to have him back as soon as possible,” Motta told a press conference on Friday.

“Injuries are part of football. Now it’s Vlahovic’s turn, but we’ll keep playing with the same principles, attacking and defending together.”

Vlahovic is the latest of Motta’s injury problems at Juventus. Argentine winger Nicolas Gonzalez missed the last six league games and is still unavailable, while Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik is a long-term absentee.

Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz will also miss the game with Milan and defender Juan Cabal recently suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury, the same issue which will keep fellow defender Gleison Bremer out for the rest of the season.

“I’m really disappointed for Cabal because, like Bremer, he’ll be out for a long time,” Motta said.

“This is another reason to push ourselves, to commit that bit more so that these absences don’t weigh too heavily.”

Mr Motta on Saturday’s #MilanJuve pic.twitter.com/2YJ61F1w8u

— JuventusFC