Why isn't Weston McKennie playing for Juventus against Aston Villa in the Champions League?

Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie bounced back from an underwhelming spell in England to establish himself as a regular for the Serie A giants.

The 26-year-old has started in three of Juventus' Champions League fixtures so far this season but will not be involved in Wednesday’s trip to Aston Villa. McKennie was not included in the matchday squad after picking up an injury earlier this week.

The USMNT was forced to sit out Juventus training on Monday after suffering from muscle fatigue and has not recovered in time to feature for Thiago Motta at Villa Park.

Juventus struck with spate of injuries

McKennie’s absence from the squad list was a surprise but he’s far from the only Juventus player missing out on this crucial UCL clash. Stirker Dusan Vlahovic also trained separately on Monday and was not included in the squad.

Juventus midfielder Douglas Luiz will miss the chance to take on his former team after he too reported a muscular injury in October. He is still yet to return. Likewise Arkadiusz Milik and Arthur Melo have also suffered injuries that keep them on the sidelines.

“Injuries aren’t just happening to us and they’re not happening by chance,” head coach Motta said on Monday, hinting at widespread concerns about the impact of busy schedules on players' fitness. “At this moment in time it wouldn’t be constructive to find the reason behind them. We have to deal with the situation by giving that bit more.”

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Juventus will know that they face a tough test at Villa Park, where a jubilant home crowd watched their team beat Bayern Munich to start the Champions League campaign. Villa have struggled to replicate last season’s form in the Premier League but will be relishing the prospect of taking another major scalp in Europe.

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