Juve, Pogba starts again in the group and Chiesa makes the coupon

Real Juventus, to put it to Allegri, is closer. Piece by piece, the team conceived in the summer by the club and the Livorno coach is being recomposed. If Angel Di Maria, who has reaffirmed in the trip to Haifa, will need 15-20 days to become available, long-term patients Federico Chiesa and Paul Pogba begin to look forward to the great return. The blue winger, absent from the knee ligament operation last January, has been working in a team for fifteen days and will probably carry out the pre-convocation coupon in a friendly match during the week. While Paul Pogba, fresh from the injury to the external meniscus at the end of July, in these days will begin to train gradually with Bonucci and his teammates. So much so that from the circles of the French national team there is a growing optimism about the Juventus player also from a World Cup perspective. So, if everything were to go according to plan, Allegri could have “his” Juventus full in time for the last matches of the pre-Qatar iron cycle. Better late than never, they think in the Bianconeri circles, given the calendar of the next few weeks: between Friday’s match against Empoli and the final match against Lazio (13 November), Allegri’s team will face Benfica, Lecce, PSG , Inter and Verona.

Di Maria is aiming for Inter (6 November), while Chiesa and Pogba could also anticipate the Argentine. The two long-term residents have in mind the trip to Lisbon on 25 October and the crossing with Benfica. The Champions League, now compromised and hanging by a thread after the defeat in Israel, still passes from Da Luz and Pogba is doing everything to get back in shape for that date. Everything (or almost everything) will depend on how French responds to new workloads. After passing phase 1 (swimming pool and gym) and phase 2 (field work), the Juventus number 10 is preparing to level up. Phase 3 provides for a gradual return to the group, given as imminent. Already seeing Paul among his teammates – and no longer alone – will have a nice effect on Allegri and all of Juventus. And obviously also to Pogba, who has not yet played an official minute with the bianconeri. For all these reasons, even just the call for Lisbon, would not be a detail. Pogba works and crosses his fingers, hoping to be able to lend a hand part-time or even just at the leadership level at Da Luz. Should he not return with Benfica, the return would still be postponed a little. The clues, especially those coming from Didier Deschamps’ national team, reinforce the positive signs and the possibility of seeing the number 10 protagonist with Juventus again by the end of the month and not just in January, after the stop for the World Cup in November. -December in Qatar.

Test

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Faith Church, which will not be able to go to the World Cup, paws. After the serious injury, the long run-up and the return to the group, Federico would convene himself for Friday night’s match against Empoli. Allegri is thinking about it and does not dismiss a priori the possibility of letting the European champion savor the atmosphere of the match. Conte Max, however, would prefer to test Chiesa in a friendly first. In the next few hours the coach will make a decision together with his staff, the management and Federico himself. The most probable options seem to be two: organizing a family test tomorrow, also involving some Under 19 guys (the second team will be involved in the league the following day, i.e. Wednesday, and the regulations prohibit the former viola from playing in Serie C) . Or alternatively “lend” Chiesa to the Primavera coached by Paolo Montero for Friday’s match against Cagliari. In the first case, Federico could hope for a call-up for Empoli. In the second, however, he would be forced to postpone the appointment for the Champions League away match at Benfica. Allegri will make the final decision during the day. For Chiesa it is already important that these types of calculations begin. Federico is aware that the run-up is not over and that it will take time to get back to the top, but returning to feel like a real player is much more than important for him after the many months spent on the sidelines of Juventus. Sensations shared with Pogba, who can’t wait to repay on the pitch the much affection received from the Juventus people in the last period and also during the complicated years in Manchester.

Programs and tables can change from day to day, but at this rate Allegri could really show up with the “real Juventus”, that is, with Chiesa, Pogba and Di Maria available, at least for the derby of Italy against Inter on 6 November. At Continassa they cross their fingers, but they don’t carry on so far with their thoughts. After the success signed by Dusan Vlahovic against Torino and the interruption of the negative moment (consecutive knockouts with Milan and Maccabi Haifa) the watchword is continuity. Beat Empoli to go up a little more in morale and in the standings, pending the return of the big Chiesa, Pogba and Di Maria.