Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri has claimed that midfielder Sami Khedira is in line for a return against Sevilla in the Champions League on Wednesday evening.
The 28-year-old was forced to face a spell on the sidelines after suffering a second-grade myotendinous tear of the rectus femoris muscle in his right thigh during the club’s pre-season preparations.
And with the defensive midfielder returning to training earlier in the week, Allegri insists Khedira is ready to make a return to the starting line-up.
“Khedira will start the game,” Allegri told reporters. “He’s got international experience and even if he may not be able to last the entire 90, he’s ready and raring to go.
“He’ll be joined by Buffon, Bonucci, Barzagli, Chiellini, Cuadrado, Pogba, Evra, Morata and Dybala. The last player I’ll keep to myself for the time being.”
Meanwhile, despite a poor start to the season, Allegri believes the club can build on from their surprise 2-1 win over Manchester City in their first Champions League group match.
“The Champions Leagueis a dream for us, but a club like ours should always make it into the knockout stages.
“We’ll need to show a great deal of determination out there, you could almost call it a decisive game as far as our hopes of reaching the Champions League knockout stages are concerned.
“This team possesses plenty of quality, but the players need to get used to operating in at least two different systems, given that the 10 new arrivals aren’t used to playing the 3-5-2 that was the bedrock of this team for three years.”
