It turned out to be a fantastic night for Tottenham Hotspur in Italy last week as they crawled back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 against Juventus in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16. Spurs will certainly go into the second leg as favourites, having got two precious away goals. But it looks like they could face a much stronger Juventus side in the return leg, which is slated to be played on March 7 at Wembley.
The likes of Paulo Dybala, Andrea Barzagli and Benedikt Howedes missed the first leg draw in Turin but the trio returned to the team as Massimiliano Allegri’s team defeated Torino in the local derby on Sunday.
Dybala had missed the last six games for Juventus due to a hamstring injury but the Argentine returned to the first-team squad against Torino, playing 30 minutes in the 1-0 win. His return means a lot to the Bianconeri.
Howedes, who tore a muscle in his thigh last year is back and so is veteran defender Barzagli, who had a calf problem and was forced to miss the first leg against Spurs.
If the trio’s return was good news for the Italian outfit, they dealt were a double-blow however, as they lost Gonzalo Higuain and Federico Bernardeschi to injury on Sunday.
Higuain, who scored both goals in the 2-2 draw last week, limped off the pitch prematurely after a collision with Torino keeper Salvatore Sirigu. Bernardeschi replaced him, only to be injured towards the end of the match.
And according to the Mirror, Higuain could miss out on the second leg of at Wembley. However, manager Allegri played down fears about the severity of injuries suffered by Higuain and Bernardeschi.
“Higuain received a bruise and we’ll evaluate him. Bernardeschi left in the final stretch but there shouldn’t be any problems.” Allegri was quoted by the Black and White and Read All Over.
“Starting Wednesday, we’ll regroup with everyone available, but in any event, the team is feeling well and they showed it today.”
The injuries to Higuain and Bernardeschi could come as a real boost to Spurs, who drew 2-2 against Rochdale in the FA Cup on Sunday. The stalemate at Rochdale means our game against Crystal Palace in the Premier League has had to be re-arranged, the Football.London report.
The FA Cup replay against at Wembley will take place on February 26. Earlier, Spurs were slated to play Palace at Selhurst Park on 26th February but that game has now been rearranged.
