Following their loss to Atalanta in Serie A action, where star midfielder Weston McKennie left the field with an apparent knee injury, Juventus confirmed Sunday afternoon that any serious damage was avoided to the American.
McKennie was forced off the field in apparent discomfort in Juve’s 1-0 home loss to Atalanta on Saturday evening, following a sequence shortly past the hour mark that was perhaps their best chance up to that point to equalize.
The team’s head coach Massimiliano Allegri confirmed in his post-game comments that it was indeed a knock to his knee, however the extent of the damage would be evaluated on Sunday.
Following an examination that took place on Sunday afternoon, the team confirmed on their website that serious injury had been avoided, however did not offer any information in regards to his availability in the coming weeks.
“Weston McKennie was subjected to diagnostic tests that excluded capsular ligament injury in his right knee,” the official announcement stated, concluding “his condition will be monitored daily.”
With attacker Federico Chiesa having also left the game earlier, and the team having confirmed that he will be absent for the rest of 2021 with a hamstring pull, the indication that only a short absence, if any, will be required for the US international will be welcome news to fans as their team still struggles to gain a foothold in their domestic and European campaigns.
On Saturday, McKennie had been one of the strongest players for Juventus up to the point of his exit, drawing plaudits from Italian media in post-game evaluation, with the highlight of his evening being the full-speed run and subsequent battle to maintain possession deep in Atlanta’s territory; the play which led to the injury.
Currently sitting in eighth and seven points out of the Champions League spots at approximately the season’s one-third point, the Bianconeri have a breakneck schedule coming up, with four domestic and European games over a space of 12 days beginning with Tuesday’s visit to Salernitana.
