The Portugal star will not take part in Sunday’s match, though there is no report of a physical problem
Cristiano Ronaldo will not feature in Juventus’ Serie A clash with Brescia on Sunday, with the five-time Ballon d’Or winner apparently rested for the home encounter.
There has been no report of any physical problem for the 35-year-old, who has scored in his last 11 fixtures in all competitions, including a club record 11 successive Serie A matches.
He has been chasing the all-time mark of Fiorentina hitman Gabriel Batistuta, who scored in 11 consecutive matches at the beginning of the 1994-95 campaign, which extends to 13 if the end of the previous season is included.
Beyond that, the world record is held by Lionel Messi, who scored in 21 successive outings for Barcelona in 2012-13 in La Liga – a sequence interrupted after 19 games due to a hamstring injury.
Juventus have not got a prolific scorer in their ranks other than the Portuguese. Their second-leading marksmen are Gonzalo Higuain and Pablo Dybala, who each have five Serie A goals in 21 outings.
Ronaldo was present for the 1-1 draw against AC Milan in the Coppa Italia on Thursday, playing the full 90 minutes and grabbing the equaliser for the visitors from the penalty spot on 91 minutes.
His absence represents a particular blow for Maurizio Sarri’s side given that they are in the midst of a difficult run of form, having won only one of their last four matches in all competitions, including costly league defeats against Napoli and Verona.
The Turin giants find themselves in the unfamiliar role of playing catch up in the Serie A standings, albeit they only trail Antonio Conte’s Inter on goal difference – the league leaders have scored four more goals than Juve and have conceded three fewer.
Juventus will also be without Douglas Costa, Federico Bernardeschi, Sami Khedira, Giorgio Chiellini and Merih Demiral, who are all still missing with injury complaints.
After playing Brescia on Sunday, Juventus visit SPAL next weekend then face a Champions League trip to Lyon, a home match against Serie A leaders Inter and the second leg of their Coppa Italia tie against Milan in the space of a week that has the potential to be season defining for the Bianconeri.
Be the first to comment