Juventus Boss Admits Star Man Could Miss Spurs Clash After Coppa Italia Win Over Atalanta
Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri has revealed he will not unnecessarily risk striker Gonzalo Higuain in next week's Champions League clash with Tottenham, following Wednesday night's Coppa Italia win over Atalanta.
Higuain did not feature in the 1-0 win - which saw Juve progress to the final of the competition - and he hasn't done since picking up an injury in the recent win over Torino.
Speaking about Higuain after the Atalanta win, via Football Italia, Allegri told the press: "Risking him (Higuain) for one game makes no sense. We want him back in shape going forward.
“Higuain is not available right now, he hasn’t trained for a few days and we’ll see if he is available on Saturday. That is the most important game right now, because London and Tottenham can wait. It’s not an obsession.
"I realise it’s an important game in a marvellous stadium and we want to progress with a good performance on the European stage, but it mustn’t be an obsession."
Victory over Atalanta means Juventus have reached the final of the Coppa Italia for a record eighteenth time. The Old Lady have also won the last three editions of the competition, and reflecting on a match where his side had to survive long spells of pressure, Allegri said: “We had a few problems in the first half, as we were late closing them down on the flanks and they did well to find passes between the lines.
“In the second half, we created more going forward, as Douglas Costa put himself behind the centre-forward and that broke the game open.”
Star man Paulo Dybala managed to get around eight minutes of action under his belt ahead of the upcoming matches, and Allegri went on to provide updates on a number of other players who have been struggling with injury.
He added: “I'm happy for [Paulo] Dybala. He's working his way back and looking good. He's got the right mentality and I'm sure he'll give us an extra gear heading into the business end of the season.
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“I'm happy with how [Blaise] Matuidi played as well. He's very important for us because he pressurises opponents and helps us hold a higher line. I'm pleased to see [Sami] Khedira back out there too and that [Claudio] Marchisio played well."
Before their decisive second leg against Tottenham on Wednesday, Juventus face a trip to Rome in Serie A on Saturday to face third placed Lazio, the only team to beat Juve at home in the league this season.
