Trezeguet gets green light
Monday 10 January, 2005
David Trezeguet is set to return to action this week after the Juventus ace passed a medical.
The player, who has been out since having a shoulder operation in October, underwent a vital test in Lyon this afternoon.
The French International received the green light from professor Gilles Walch, the same doctor who operated on him before Christmas.
Trezeguet is now expected to feature in Juve’s Coppa Italia match against Atalanta on Thursday.
"I want to play as soon as I can," the striker emphasised. "On a psychological level, I’m there already and I have absolutely no fear of getting stuck in again."
The player’s absence has seen Delle Alpi favourite Alessandro Del Piero return to scoring form, but Trezeguet now seems ready to battle for his place.
"I can’t wait to play with my teammates again," he said, but admitted to some apprehension.
"I am still worried about not being in top athletic and technical condition after the long lay off, so I hope I’ll be ready when called upon."
His team have certainly coped well without him after they were crowned Winter champions on Sunday.
The unofficial title, which is given to the League leaders at the half way stage of the season, is broadly seen as an indication of who will win the Scudetto.
However, the actual statistics show that this has only come true 47 times out of 72 in the history of Serie A.
Fabio Capello’s Roma were in pole position this time last year, but ended up losing out to Milan.
Juventus have been crowned Winter champions 23 times in their history, winning the Scudetto on 16 of those occasions.
Capello, now Juve boss, has been at the top of the table at this stage of the season eight times in his career.
Four of those were with Milan and three with Roma. The Rossoneri went on to claim the Scudetto all four times, but the Giallorossi managed to win the title just once.