Juventus boss Sarri casts doubt over Ronaldo availability for Roma clash

Posted Wednesday, January 22, 2020 by Goal.com

The 34-year-old has been in stunning form for Juve of late, but he may start Wednesday's match against the Giallorossi from the bench

Juventus manager Maurizio Sarri has cast doubt on star forward Cristiano Ronaldo's availability for the club's Coppa Italia quarter-final clash with Roma on Wednesday.

Ronaldo has been in red-hot form for Juventus of late, having now scored in seven consecutive Serie A matches.

After scoring a brace in Sunday's win over Parma, the 34-year-old has now scored 11 goals in his last seven games, taking him to 18 overall in all competitions.

Juventus may need Ronaldo's scoring to overcome Roma on Wednesday, but Sarri has said that he could hold the Portugal star out of his line-up out of an abundance of caution.

"We'll evaluate Cristiano tomorrow morning. It depends on whether he is in the right condition to play three games and if he is completely recovered," Sarri said on Tuesday.

Ronaldo suffered through knee issues in November, as he failed to score a goal during that month and was removed early from two matches.

Though Sarri has declared Ronaldo free of any lingering issues, it appears that he is still wary of his star attacker playing too many fixtures in a short period of time.

Ronaldo has played the full 90 minutes in all three of Juve's Serie A matches in 2020 thus far, though he was held out of last week's clash with Udinese in the Coppa Italia with an illness.

Following Wednesday's match against Roma, Juventus will take on Napoli on Sunday in a Serie A encounter as they look to extend their lead atop the league.

Currently, the eight-time defending champions have a four-point advantage over Inter and a six-point edge over Lazio, who have a game in hand.

Ronaldo isn't the only player in doubt for Wednesday's match, as Sarri also provided updates on the fitness of several of his other key players.

"[Juan] Cuadrado trained in the gym as a precaution today," Sarri said. "Alex Sandro has a problem with the transverse muscle but it's nothing serious. Both are to be evaluated.

"Adrien [Rabiot] came out of the last match with a couple of serious knocks. He'll also be evaluated tomorrow. He's a player with important physical quality even during the recovery between matches."