No blue for Udogie: he left the Under team retreat, but he is just a little feverish

UDINE. From the very probable place among the holders in the Under 21 that tomorrow will challenge Ireland away (for a delicate match in key to qualifying for the 2023 European Championships), to the immediate return to Friuli: a question of Destiny, just to mention the name of the 18-year-old Udogie , the Udinese blue who greeted the coach Paolo Nicolato who on the left wing lost another certainty, after that of the Roman player Calafiori.

The medical bulletin released by the football federation talks about a generic “fatigue” which, relaunched from the web, has transformed, like an avalanche, capable of magnifying even a simple snowball, into a muscular trouble that would have been a real misfortune for Luca Gotti in view of the resumption after the stop reserved for the activities of the national teams, scheduled for Monday 22 November at the Grande Torino stadium to challenge Ivan Juric’s grenades, one of the opponents who occupy the same place in the standings of the bianconeri.

Giving up on Udogie with Samir recovering from the ankle problem – albeit recoverable – which knocked him out during the match against Sassuolo and with the Stryger Larsen case only in the early stages would not have been the best.

Yes, because the Dane, in turn called up for the World Cup qualifiers (tomorrow he will face the Far Oer, Monday against Scotland, but the pass for Qatar 2022 is already in his pocket), will hardly be rescued in terms of availability, even if there is no trace – logically – of any official status that decrees the tug-of-war between the player and the Juventus club on the extension of an expiring contract that the person concerned does not want to sign to leave Friuli on a free transfer next June.

Thus, in the absence of a respite, Gotti will find himself with one less weapon on the flanks, left and right, given the ductility of the Dane.

Not that the material is scarce in those parts: with Nehuen Perez usable as a full-back in the 4-man defense, as happened with Sassuolo, the Contarina coach also has Argentine Nahuel Molina at his disposal (also now at the service of his national team ), the French Brandon Soppy and the Dutch “seasoned” Marvin Zeegelaar.

But on the left he has eyes especially for Udogie’s precocious talent, struggling with a bout of fever and cold – nothing but muscle trouble! -, a seasonal illness (confirmed by the Covid buffer which gave a negative result) which would have jeopardized his presence with the azzurrini in Ireland, while next week a friendly match is scheduled in which the coach Nicolato will feel the pulse of the alternatives , given that Juventus is one of the certainties of our future Under 21.

In short, Udinese (which yesterday held a double session between the Bruseschi fields and the gyms in the belly of the Friuli stadium) could find Udogie in training as early as next week, in time to calmly prepare for the match against Turin. From left-back in a rearguard to 4 or from “fifth” left-handed in 3-5-2 that could be dusted off by Gotti to contain Juric’s exuberance in one-on-one in midfield.