Juventus have officially announced their squad for the Champions League knockout stage and there is a place for Giorgio Chiellini.
The Bianconeri take on Lyon in the round of 16 with the first leg set to take place on February 26, and they’ll be hoping to extend their European run further.
In order to do that and to have the best possible chance of successfully defending their Serie A crown, Maurizio Sarri will have been desperate to have a full squad to select from, and as seen in the group confirmed by the club in their official press release, influential stalwart Chiellini is back.
The 35-year-old is currently sidelined with an ACL injury and has in turn been limited to just one appearance so far this season.
While it’s unclear as to when he’ll make his comeback, the fact that Juventus have included him in the squad below would suggest that he’ll be contention to feature, particularly if they advance.
That said, merely having him in the squad and among the players to impart his experience and knowledge will be a major boost in itself, and so Sarri will hope that he gets the chance to select him on top of that too.
It’s particularly important for Juventus as they also lost Merih Demiral for the rest of the season with a major injury blow of his own, and so Chiellini could come in and fill that void for the Turin giants in the coming months.
With Inter pushing them hard in the Scudetto race coupled with their ongoing desire to conquer Europe, it promises to be a fascinating few months for Juve both at home and in Europe.
Juventus Champions League list: Szczesny, De Sciglio, Chiellini, De Ligt, Pjanic, Khedira, Ronaldo, Ramsey, Dybala, Douglas Costa, Alex Sandro, Danilo, Matuidi, Cuadrado, Bonucci, Higuain, Rugani, Rabiot, Bentancur, Pinsoglio, Bernardeschi, Buffon