Paul Pogba and Federico Chiesa represent life jackets for Juventus and Massimiliano Allegri.
The two superstars, neither of whom has yet played a competitive minute this term owing to knee injuries, are both nearing returns with Juventus desperate for a new lease of life as they look to get their fledgling season back on track.
Already the Bianconeri find themselves off the pace in the league with leaders Napoli having surged ahead amid a stunning start under Luciano Spalletti this term.
The worry for Juventus is that, unlike in seasons gone by, there are four teams – AC Milan, Inter Milan, Atalanta and the early leaders – with eyes very much on the Champions League spots. Financially, were Juventus to miss out it would be a disaster.
Federico Chiesa returned to training and will now look to gain match fitness ahead of return
Pogba and Cheisa are the season-savers Juventus are pinning much of their hopes on. When both return, which is thought to be imminently, neither will be expected to be fully up to speed but they can still provide a welcome boost.
Italy’s non-involvement in the World Cup will benefit Chiesa in that he will have more than six weeks to build his fitness up to full strength.
Pogba, meanwhile, is focusing all of his recovery at present on being fit for Qatar – a reported point of contention between parties at present.
Should Allegri have the two at, or close to, 100 per cent come January then Juventus can be certain of a more prosperous second half of the season.
Paul Pogba’s return to action is also key for Juventus as they plot a route back to the top
Chiesa has experienced a long and laborious recovery from his knee injury
Italy’s non-participation at this year’s World Cup is a tragedy for one of the planet’s foremost footballing nations.
The second tournament in a row they’ve missed, having failed to emerge from the group stages in 2010 and 2014, Italy last played a World Cup knockout match in 2006.
One person who has stood to benefit from Italy’s non-participation, however, is Chiesa who will be afforded extra time when the leagues break for the tournament to get himself back up to speed.
Chiesa’s clash with Chris Smalling at the start of this year left the exciting forward writhing in pain and has seen him spend nine months off the field recovering from the injury to his knee ligaments. The pain and anguish for Chiesa did not stop there.
The Italian wide player suffered a bad injury and it has been a long road to recovery for him
Liquid on the knee prevented the operation from taking place initially while Chiesa then went down with fever and, the rehabilitation brought further complications with swellings plaguing the player owing to irritations of the tendons.
His importance to Juventus has only grown in the time he has been absent. It is not hard to see why.
Chiesa is one of few players as adept on the left as he is on the right side, and vice-versa while his end product is enormously important to the side’s fortunes.
It is telling that the club entrusted him with the significant number seven shirt following Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure.
Chiesa has been backed by the Agnelli family as an icon for sponsors and a key player for – hopefully – successful Juventus teams to come.
The club are keen to ensure the player they see as a future captain returns to full health and won’t risk any further complications by rushing him back unnecessarily.
The injury itself was bad enough but problems with his rehabilitation and other recovery procedures have stunted his return to action
Pogba now must play to prove he is ready for Qatar
The meniscus injury suffered by Pogba only weeks into his Juventus return risked destroying all relations between the parties before his second spell had barely got underway.
The World Cup in November meant Pogba initially tried to avoid surgery to recover from the injury naturally. Juventus, who are investing a lot on his wages (around £7m a year), wanted the Frenchman to have surgery to ensure he was fitter for longer.
Having eventually gone in for surgery in September, Pogba is now ready to return to the pitch and provide Allegri a boost before the season breaks.
Pogba is now targeting a return to the France squad for the defence of their World Cup crown
The Frenchman now has two major aspirations: ensure Juventus return to the sort of form they were in when he last played a competitive fixture for them back in 2016 and ensure his place in Didier Deschamps’ squad for Qatar.
The team badly need his assists and quality of play vertically, with Juventus having struggled consistently in their build up from front to back this season.
Pogba is now ready to return to training and his return to the matchday squad is imminent.
Chiesa began training 10 days ago and could return in their home fixture against Empoli
Chiesa began training 10 days ago and could make a return in their home fixture against Empoli.
Pogba strongly wants to get the chance to participate in the World Cup and is now in a hurry after losing almost three months due to an annoying but not particularly serious injury.
His performances from here on in will have to be excellent to convince Deschamps it would be the right move to take him.
Allegri will look to copy Conte to get the best out of returning stars
With both Chiesa and Pogba available, which shape will Allegri choose? This is one of the most interesting questions that concerns the future of the team.
Pogba will be able to play in 3-5-2 or 4-3-3 without ever altering his type of football: he is an external half and can also play as a pivot in deep midfield but Juventus has chosen to bet on him to increase the number of goals from central areas.
If Pogba is fit, he guarantees eight to ten goals a year and therefore Allegri is unlikely to make any major tactical changes with his return to the pitch.
The future of Massimiliano Allegri could rest upon his ability to get the best out of his side following the returns of Pogba and Chiesa
For Chiesa the situation is different: the 24-year-old can also be used as an external box to box winger but the serious injury suffered and the need to exploit his strength in the last 25 metres of the field might push Allegri to emulate a sort of 3-4-2- 1 previously used by former coach Antonio Conte.
This type of tactical system would allow Chiesa to play as close as possible to Dusan Vlahovic.
In the 3-4-2-1 at Tottenham there are Dejan Kulusevski and Heung-min Son behind Harry Kane.
In the ball possession phase, on the other hand, the team sides with a 3-4-3 and this could be the tactical solution also adopted by Allegri to make Chiesa and Pogba coexist.
Pogba, Leandro Paredes and Adrien Rabiot represent the centre of the Juventus team for which everything will revolve.
Meanwhile, Chiesa, alongside Vlahovic, is the club’s most important asset in the forward areas. It will be a test of Allegri’s ability as a coach if and when he manages to get the best out of the two returning stars.
