Concern for Juventus as Ekhator suffers injury on pre-season debut

Concern for Juventus as Ekhator suffers injury on pre-season debut Juventus have an early injury worry on their hands after summer signing Jeff Ekhator was forced off during his first appearance for the club. According to TuttoMercatoWeb and Corriere dello Sport , the Italian striker lasted less than half an hour of Saturday’s pre-season friendly against Basel, Luciano Spalletti’s first match of the summer, before a physical problem obliged his withdrawal on 29 minutes, with Lois Openda taking his place. Jeff Ekhator has completed his transfer from Genoa (juventus.com) Juventus await tests on Ekhator injury The exact nature of the issue is not yet clear. TuttoMercatoWeb reports that early assessments point to a muscular problem in the thigh, while Corriere dello Sport notes the 2006-born forward repeatedly clutched his knee after going to ground in a challenge with a defender during a run in behind, before rising and leaving the pitch under his own power. Proper examinations in the coming hours will determine the severity. The timing is unwelcome as Ekhator, signed from Genoa this summer, was the first piece of Juventus’ attacking rebuild and had been handed a start as Spalletti runs the rule over his options, with the club still chasing a marquee centre-forward in Randal Kolo Muani and weighing alternatives such as Mateo Pellegrino and Richarlison . Losing a young forward to injury at the very start of pre-season would be a blow the coach could do without, and Juventus will hope the tests bring reassuring news.