Locatelli Faces Knee Tests After Milan Draw

Manuel Locatelli woke up on Monday not as the calm anchor of Juventus’s midfield, but as the club’s latest injury concern.

The Juventus captain is set to report to JMedical for tests on a knee problem he felt during Sunday night’s 1-1 draw with Milan at the Allianz Stadium, according to reports from Gianluca Di Marzio and others in Italy.

He did not ask to come off. He did not even slow down much. Locatelli completed the full 90 minutes, playing through discomfort that surfaced towards the end of the Serie A clash. Only after the final whistle did the alarm really start to ring.

By Monday afternoon, the plan was clear: detailed medical examinations in the coming hours to understand the extent of the issue and whether Juventus are facing another spell without a key midfielder.

The timing could hardly be worse. Juventus are already stretched in the middle of the park. Khephren Thuram has undergone knee surgery and is not expected back until early 2027, removing a regular starter from the rotation for the long term.

Another setback now would bite hard.

If tests rule Locatelli out, Luciano Spalletti will be forced to lean heavily on Weston McKennie, Douglas Luiz, Teun Koopmeiners and summer signing Pape Matar Sarr to hold the centre of the pitch together.

For a Juventus side trying to build stability, everything suddenly hangs on what those scans at JMedical reveal.