(Reuters) – Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri is hopeful of having most of his players fit before the end of the month, as the Serie A side have struggled with injury-related absences this season.
The 36-time Italian champions struggled for form at the start of the campaign but have won each of their last six league games without conceding, putting them in third place in the standings before the World Cup break.
“I hope to have everyone available in three weeks’ time,” Allegri told reporters on Tuesday.
France midfielder Paul Pogba injured his knee in pre-season and underwent surgery in September that ruled him out of the World Cup in Qatar.
“Pogba is running. The most important thing right now is that his knee isn’t swollen. If he carries on like this for the next two to three weeks, he’ll be able to train with the squad,” Allegri said.
“(Angel) Di Maria and (Leandro) Paredes are back and doing well. I’ll assess today whether (Wojciech) Szczesny can play or not. (Adrien) Rabiot came back from the World Cup raring to go. (Dusan) Vlahovic is doing well.”
The 55-year-old coach said that Juve still had silverware in their sights this season despite crashing out of Champions League in the group stage and trailing Serie A leaders Napoli by 10 points.
“Napoli are clear favourites for the Scudetto (title) at the moment, so now our aim is to get into the top four and go all the way in the Coppa Italia and the Europa League,” Allegri said.
Juve travel to Cremonese in Serie A on Wednesday. Their opponents have yet to register a league win this season, but Allegri was wary of his team being complacent.
“We’re starting up again tomorrow after a 52-day break and we’re in for a very tough game straight away against a team that didn’t concede in their last two home matches,” Allegri said.
“Cremonese get a lot of shots and crosses in, so we’ll need to take to the pitch with respect and humility. Substitutions will play a key role.”
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
