Dybala's 'recovery process is going well, but I don't know when he'll return' - Sarri

Paulo Dybala of Juventus FC replaced due to injury during the Serie A match between Juventus and UC Sampdoria at Allianz Stadium. Photo: Stefano Guidi/Getty Images

Maurizio Sarri has not yet decided whether to completely rotate his Juventus squad against Roma, but hopes to have Paulo Dybala and Aaron Ramsey back against Lyon.


The coach had suggested using the Under-23 team in this final game of the Serie A season, having already won the Scudetto and lost 2-0 at Cagliari midweek.

“We’ll evaluate today and tomorrow morning. Those who need to rest will be allowed to do so, those who can play will go on to the pitch,” said Sarri in his press conference.

“I wasn’t complaining about the fixture list, I just pointed out a fact, that we played five times in 12 days. I am fully aware of the difficulties in drawing up the calendar in these circumstances, but I was not trying to change anything, I just said we had to adapt to the situation.”

While Juve have been playing non-stop in Serie A, Olympique Lyonnais played their last competitive game on March 8, and they face off in the Champions League Round of 16 on August 7.

“We don’t know what effect there will be. Clearly, we are dealing with extraordinary circumstances and everyone has their own way of adapting. Right now, the mentality of my team is of a side that has already won the Scudetto, so there’s no need to run any risks.

“We’ll see how Cristiano Ronaldo is doing, but he is among those who played the most, so we have to discuss it with the medical staff and see how he’s feeling.

“Ramsey should be back in group training today, we’ll see tomorrow, but there’s a very good chance he’ll be ready in the Champions League. Dybala is with the medical staff. They told me he the recovery process is going well, but I don’t know when he’ll return.”

That doesn’t mean he expects tomorrow’s game with Roma to be a dull affair, quite the opposite.

“I hope to see two teams free of pressure who can just play football. We’ve recently improved a lot in our approach, pressing higher up the field, keeping more possession, but still respecting the characteristics of the players. Considering it’s the first season, I am satisfied, though obviously there’s huge margin for improvement.”

Juventus have already purchased Arthur Melo for next season, but it seems as if the midfielder is refusing to play in the Champions League for Barcelona.

“I don’t know the situation, so any comment I made would be a wild guess. I prefer to say nothing.”

Sarri was asked what most irritated him this season and had a typical response.

“I am permanently annoyed, so I can’t really name one thing…”FootballItalia