Juventus star winger Federico Chiesa is set to miss the rest of the season after picking up a serious ACL injury in the team's 4-3 win at Roma on Sunday. Juve announced the injury on Monday, saying Chiesa felt a "blunt trauma sprain" in his left knee, later saying it was an ACL injury.
Here's the official statement from the club:
During yesterday's match, Federico Chiesa felt a blunt trauma sprain to his left knee.
The diagnostic tests performed this morning at J|Medical revealed an injury of the anterior cruciate ligament.
It will be necessary for the player to undergo surgery in the next few days.
Chiesa has four goals in 17 games for Juve this season with the club in fifth place in Serie A with 38 points. They are currently four points behind the top four. Losing him is a big blow to their top-four hopes and may just force them into making a move in the January window to replace him.
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However, Juventus aren't the only team impacted by this. With him expected to miss the rest of the season, that all but ends his participation in Italy's crucial World Cup qualifying matches. Italy are at risk of missing back-to-back World Cups for the first time ever. They are in the playoff round where they'll face North Macedonia on March 24 in a one-off match. If they advance, they are expected to face Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal, with the Iberians set to face Turkey in the semifinals. A winner-take-all match against Portugal without Chiesa will be a tough ask, especially what you consider what he accomplished over the summer. Chiesa was a massive part of Italy winning Euro 2020, scoring in the round of 16 against Austria and in the semifinals against Spain.
