Cabal, knee injury: Juve’s defense loses another piece

Torino – Another knee injury for the Juventus defense, which loses the Colombian Juan Cabal after Bremer. The news arriving from Colombia worries Thiago Motta and the entire Juventus environment: the defender stopped during training with his national team in view of the matches against Uruguay and Ecuador valid for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. Cabal will return in Turin in the next few days and the medical staff of Colombia and Juventus have already met. However, rumors are coming from South America of a rather serious injury, which could further complicate Juventus’ season.

What Cabal has done to himself

During training, Juan Cabal was left down after a tackle. The South American medical staff immediately realized the seriousness of the injury, which risks putting an end to his season, even if it will be necessary to wait for the tests at J Medical to have a more comprehensive picture of the defender’s condition. A tile for a department already hit hard by Gleison Bremer’s cruciate ligament rupture, a heavy knockout as also demonstrated by Juventus’ numbers after the Brazilian’s stoppage. Arriving this summer from Verona, Cabal quickly climbed the hierarchies of the Juventus defense and the alternation with Savona, albeit one on the right and the other on the left thanks to Cambiaso’s interchangeability, characterized the first part of the season. In which the Colombian made 9 appearances, including 2 in the Champions League, also distributing an assist but above all demonstrating that he can integrate perfectly into Thiago Motta’s game. Against Milan at San Siro, at the restart after the break, the defense will be in emergency.

How is the Juventus defense doing?

A hard blow that Thiago Motta will have to cushion until the next winter transfer market, as announced by Giuntoli, unless the club looks at the free agent market in the next few days. At this moment, without Bremer and with the unknown Cabal, the Juventus defense can only count on Gatti, Kalulu and Danilo as central defenders, a role that the Colombian had not yet covered this season but on which Motta was working, also given the Bremer’s injury. In addition to him, Savona was also making the transition, and the defender who had just been called up for Italy could be called to overtime, diverting Cambiaso to the left. The use of Rouhi will probably increase, as he struggled to find space after his debut as a starter against Genoa. The metamorphosis of McKennie cannot also be ruled out, as he could play full-back if necessary, while it is more difficult for the same to happen to Weah, who is having an excellent season as a winger and has recently confirmed that he is comfortable in that position.

Which defenders in the free transfer market

By December 12, teams will be able to reach agreements with released players who are free from contracts. A market that can count on valuable players, even if they are advanced in age or have been away from the pitch for some time, at zero cost, at least for the transfer. It is difficult to understand what Juventus will do, given that if after Bremer’s injury they preferred to look internally for resources to make up for the long absence, after obtaining the results of Cabal’s tests this position could change. A month from today to find a replacement, with Kurzawa, Ramos (who could return to Real), Djidji and Kjaer among the most intriguing names. Although the feeling is that while waiting for January, when the market reopens, Motta can continue with the defenders available, perhaps integrating someone from the Next Gen, rather than looking for a makeshift solution for just over a month.