Serie A league leaders Juventus have confirmed that their star defender Giorgio Chiellini will miss a crucial match against AC Milan on Friday night, reportCalciomercato.com.
The defender picked up a muscle injury last week against Udinese and managerMassimiliano Allegrihasmade the difficult decision to leave him out of the side in the hope that he will be recovered for their Champions League match against Porto next week.
Chiellini has already missed 10 games through injury this season, with the majority being muscles problems and damaged hamstrings, and Mehdi Benatia is looking most likely to replace him at the back.
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Chiellini had initially thought the injury wasn't that serious� when he spoke to Sky earlier this week, via Football Italia. He said: I'll have tests tomorrow but I'm pretty good.
It's nothing in particular, every now and then I have a few aches and pains from previous battles, but it's nothing serious.
Now we'll see how I recover in the next few days but it's nothing serious.
There are always few days, so it'll need to be evaluated, tomorrow or the day after tomorrow we'll definitely know something more. But it's not something that will be long-term.�
The injury however has caused him enough discomfort to rule him out of tonight's match which could be crucial to Juventus' title defence. They currently sit eight points ahead of Roma and they will be hoping to secure the top place with another win.
Chiellini has been a strong performer at the back for Juventus playing 25 games so far this season in all competitions. While his strength and experience will be missed Andrea Barzagli or Daniele Rugani could also be suitable replacements if the Italian is still out for the match against Porto.