Sixty minutes, then the knee gave out
He never made it to the final whistle. Manuel Locatelli came off during Saturday’s 1-1 draw with AC Milan holding his knee, and by Tuesday morning the mood around Continassa had moved from concern to something closer to resignation. It is the meniscus. Sky Italia reports that surgery is now the route Juventus expect to take.
Nothing has been signed off. Several specialists are still weighing in, and the treatment plan follows from whatever they decide. The layoff looks long either way.
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Five years of building the team around him
Locatelli arrived from Sassuolo in 2021 and barely left the team sheet after that. He has worn the armband. He won the Euros with Italy in his first summer at the club. Ask anyone in Turin who sets the tempo in front of the back four and you get one name back.
The timing is rotten. Juventus had just been pegged back at home by Milan with a late goal, and the European schedule starts biting within days.
Who breaks up play now?
Whoever inherits the shirt has two jobs at once: kill the opposition move, then start the next one. Juventus have bodies for that role. They do not have a copy of Locatelli.
The medical verdict is due in the coming days. If the surgeons get involved, Turin will be counting this one in months rather than weeks.
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