Simone Padoin could be thrust into the Juventus” data-scaytid=”2″>Juventus side to face Olympiacos tomorrow night, should Kwadwo Asamoah fail a fitness test.
Both the Ghanaian and central defender Angelo Ogbonna are struggling with injuries after Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Empoli.
Simone Padoin could be thrust into the Juventus side to face Olympiacos tomorrow night, should Kwadwo Asamoah fail a fitness test.
Both the Ghanaian and central defender Angelo Ogbonna are struggling with injuries after Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Empoli.
It adds further woe to an already threadbare Juventus defence, with Andrea Barzagli, Luca Marrone, Martin Caceres and Patrice Evra also sidelined.
Former Atalanta man Padoin has made only 21 starts in his four seasons in Turin, but Allegri insists he would have no concerns about throwing the 30-year-old in at the Champions League deep end.
“There’s absolutely no need to ‘invent’ anything,” Allegri told journalists in his Press conference ahead of the Olympiacos game.
“Let’s see how Asamoah and Ogbonna both are, I’ll pick the team based on how well these two recover.
“In the event that we’re without both, Padoin can easily play left-wing-back.
“He did well when he came on at Empoli, he’s reliable on a technical level, and especially on a tactical level, so as far as that goes I’m not at all worried.
“Having said that, it would be important to get them [Asamoah and Ogbonna] back so that I have a number of extra players to choose from.”
Young striker Alvaro Morata played from the start in the win over Empoli, impressing with his performance and scoring the second goal.
However, Allegri refused to be drawn on whether the former Real Madrid man would be preferred to compatriot Fernando Llorente tomorrow.
“It’s virtually impossible to tell you now who’ll play tomorrow, because we’ve still got another training session.
“I’ll see if Ogbonna and Asamoah will be available and based on that I’ll make my choices accordingly.
“Morata did well at Empoli, he scored a goal, but Llorente is pretty good and getting better so I’ll save that choice for tomorrow morning.”