Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri has included midfielder Paul Pogba in his 22-man squad for tomorrow’s Champions League semi-final clash with Real Madrid.
The France international was sidelined for 52 days with a right-thigh muscle tear before returning to Juventus’ lineup on Saturday. The newly-crowned Serie A champions drew 1-1 with Cagliari at Juventus Stadium, with Pogba scoring the only goal for the Bianconeri on a 20-yard strike which took a deflection before it ended up in the back of the net.
The 22-year-old showed no signs of rust while playing 60+ minutes against Cagliari before being substituted by Paolo De Ceglie.
The expectation is Allegri will name Pogba to his starting eleven against Real Madrid for tomorrow’s decisive match, with Juve holding a 2-1 advantage from the first leg in Turin.
Juventus are seeking to reach their first Champions League final in more than a decade. The last time the Italian club reached the semi-finals of the competition was during the 2002-03 campaign when they eliminated Real Madrid by an aggregate score of 4-3.
The Juventus squad which will travel to Madrid is as follows:
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon and Marco Storari
Defenders: Chiellini, Ogbonna, Barzagli, Bonucci, Lichsteiner, Evra
Midfielders: Pogba, Pepe, Marchisio, Coman, Padoin, Pirlo, Vidal, Sturaro, Rubinho, Pereya
Forwards: Morata, Tevez, Llorente, Matri
Programming note: Real Madrid vs. Juventus will be shown LIVE on Wednesday at 2:45pm EST on FOX Sports 1 and FoxSoccer2Go.
