Dusan Vlahovic wasn’t 100 percent, but he played and scored a goal with Serbia in Qatar. He hasn’t practiced in any capacity afterward as he’s nursing lingering sports hernia. His final goal with the Bianconeri dates back to October 15. It was also the last time he played the full 90 minutes, per La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Afterward, he got the nod and was replaced in the second half versus Empoli and Benfica. He eventually sat out five matches because of the groin injury. In the World Cup, he came off the bench against Brazil and drew the start in the Switzerland clash, but he subbed off early after intermission.
Vlahovic recently admitted that he was feeling better but that the pain was still there. Massimiliano Allegri alluded he might miss the Cremonese game on January 4th after Thursday’s friendly versus Rijeka.
“He’s a question mark, we’ll see.”
The striker has been limited to working in the gym since coming back. He’s doing exercises to try to solve the issue. He had already followed the protocol in the summer, but the problem resurfaced a few months later. Juventus leaned on Arkadiusz Milik and Moise Kean while he was out. They assembled a six-game winning streak.
Our Take on Vlahovic
Sports hernia is one of the trickiest injuries to deal with, as you never know when it’s gone for good, and the risk of relapsing is always around the corner. Moreover, there isn’t a surefire therapy to fix it. One has to wonder how long it will be until they consider surgery, which probably wasn’t an option in the past with the World Cup on the horizon as it would have sidelined him for a couple of months.
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