Teun Koopmeiners unlikely to recover in time to face Parma

The thing that was generally assumed when it became known that Teun Koopmeiners was dealing with a cracked rib was that his exact return to action was going to be a complete question mark. That may sound little bit of an odd thing to think about, but cracked ribs are very much not like muscle injuries when it comes to recovery times — it just doesn’t fit into one exact timetable almost every single time.

And now, as we enter build-up to the final game before October turns to November, Koopmeiners’ return to Juventus’ lineup is still a waiting game.

Giovanni Albanese on Monday, Koopmeiners’ return to the field almost certainly won’t be happening in Juventus’ midweek matchup against Parma at the Allianz Stadium. Koopmeiners last played in Juve’s draw with Cagliari before the October international break, but was forced to be a subbed out at halftime due to having issues breathing because of his cracked rib, according to reports. When Koopmeiners was officially diagnosed with his broken rib a few days later, one very notable thing was missing from the announcement: just how long he was going to be out for.

Because this injury is more how the player feels rather than sitting out a couple of weeks and that’s that, Koopmeiners’ return continues to roll on and be Juve’s arguably biggest absence outside of Gleison Bremer.

In Koopmeiners’ absence, Thiago Motta has tried more than just a couple of players in the No. 10 role in which the 26-year-old Dutchman has occupied since signing from Atalanta late in August. We’ve seen Douglas Luiz — who is dealing with his own injury issues at the moment — played in the hole. We’ve seen Nicolo Fagioli played in the hole. Kenan Yildiz hasn’t gotten back to the spot he looked at home at prior to Koopmeiners’ arrival, but we’ve also seen Weston McKennie very much making runs forward into the final third like he did to set up Juve’s first goal against Inter this past weekend.

But there’s no denying that Koopmeiners’ presence is sorely lacked right now — especially with the inconsistent nature in which Juventus’ attack is still dealing with on a week to week basis. The potential is there, we just need to see it on a much more consistent basis.

And get Koopmeiners back on the field. Once that happens, now we can hopefully see the machine getting back to full strength and firing on all cylinders a lot more often.