Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic and Liverpool’s Vinicius Junior are both sidelined for their teams’ upcoming European fixtures. Vlahovic continues to recover from a muscle injury and will miss Juventus’ Champions League trip to Aston Villa, while Vinicius is ruled out of Liverpool’s clash due to a hamstring injury. Both players have been key performers for their sides this season, and their absences are significant as both teams aim to maintain their strong campaigns.
Vlahovic Still Out for Juventus’ Aston Villa Trip
Juventus forward Dusan Vlahovic is still uncertain for Wednesday’s Champions League match against Aston Villa, as he trained alone on Monday.
According to multiple Italian outlets, including Calciomercato.com, Juventus striker Vlahovic was absent from his team’s training session at Continassa on Monday morning.
According to multiple Italian outlets, including Calciomercato.com, Juventus striker Vlahovic was absent from his team’s training session at Continassa on Monday morning.
Vlahovic was absent from Juventus’ recent Serie A match against Milan on Saturday, following a muscle injury he sustained while playing for Serbia on international duty.
Thiago Motta mentioned last week that he was unsure if the Bianconeri star would be fit to play against Aston Villa.
Juventus will hold another training session on Wednesday morning before heading to Birmingham. The first 15 minutes of the session will be open to the media.
Juventus have earned seven points from their first four Champions League matches this season, while Aston Villa have gathered nine points.
Vlahovic is Juventus’ top scorer this season, with 16 appearances in all competitions with nine goals.
Vinicius Out of Liverpool Clash with Hamstring Injury
Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior has sustained a hamstring injury, the Spanish club confirmed on Monday (November 25, 2024), making him unavailable for the upcoming Champions League match against Liverpool.
“After tests taken today, our player Vinicius Junior was diagnosed by Real Madrid’s medical services with a hamstring injury in his left leg,” the club said in a statement.
Spanish media have reported that the Brazilian winger is likely to be sidelined for nearly a month, keeping him from playing in the Champions League match against Atalanta on December 10, as well as Wednesday’s (November 20, 2024) game at Anfield.
Vinicius completed the full 90 minutes in Madrid’s 3-0 La Liga victory over Leganes on Sunday (November 24, 2024), providing the assist for Kylian Mbappe’s opening goal.
“The crazy calendar… now to recover,” wrote the 24-year-old on social media platform X.
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez criticized UEFA and FIFA on Sunday (November 24, 2024) for their increasingly congested match schedules.
This season’s Champions League includes eight group-stage matches instead of six, along with an additional round that some teams will enter if they finish outside the top eight.
Madrid has several players sidelined with long-term injuries, including Dani Carvajal and Eder Militao, both suffering from serious knee injuries, which Perez attributed to the growing number of matches.
“This season, we could play 82 matches – there are 63% more matches organized by UEFA and FIFA, from 22 to 36,” complained Perez.
“There have already been nine cruciate ruptures this season (in La Liga), the same as in the whole of last season. Specialists point to fatigue as the cause.”
Vinicius has had an outstanding start to the season, outperforming summer signing Mbappe so far.
The forward, who placed second in the Ballon d’Or voting, has scored four goals in as many Champions League appearances this season, along with eight goals in 13 La Liga matches.
Champions League holders Madrid have had a rocky start to their European campaign, suffering two defeats in their first four matches.
They were defeated 1-0 at Lille and 3-1 at home by AC Milan in their most recent Champions League matches, placing them 18th in the expanded group standings.
Liverpool, managed by new coach Arne Slot, tops both the Champions League table and the Premier League.
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