Juventus receive Yildiz boost ahead of Sporting CP Champions League test

Monday’s reports indicate that Kenan Yildiz should be available for selection in time for Juventus’s Champions League test against Sporting CP on Tuesday evening, having missed out on Luciano Spalletti’s first match in charge over the weekend. 

Yildiz was not included in the matchday squad for Spalletti’s Juventus debut, which ended in a 2-1 win away against Cremonese in Serie A over the weekend. 

The Bianconeri no.10 has been struggling with patellar tendinopathy in his left knee, a recurring issue that causes inflammation around the tendon beneath the kneecap. Yildiz has worn a small bandage around that knee for most of the 2025-26 season. 

Yildiz expected to return for Juventus in Champions League

According to reports from La Gazzetta dello Sport, he should be available for selection, and potentially to start, for Juventus when they take on Sporting in the Champions League on Tuesday night. 

He could potentially come straight back into the team alongside Dusan Vlahovic in attack, which would be at the expense of summer signing Lois Openda. 

According to Monday’s update, Spalletti has just one other ‘doubt’ regarding his team selection for Sporting, and that is at centre-back. 

Spalletti is likely to keep Teun Koopmeiners as part of the back three, as he did over the weekend. Pierre Kalulu is also expected to start, which means that the decision is between Federico Gatti and Daniele Rugani to fill the final position in the back three.