Andrea Pirlo confirms Cristiano Ronaldo ankle injury in Juventus draw against Lazio
Juventus head coach Andrea Pirlo has confirmed that Cristiano Ronaldo suffered an ankle injury in the side's 1-1 draw with Lazio on Sunday. The 35-year-old missed the last 15 minutes of the Serie A match after picking up the injury.
Cristiano Ronaldo gave Juventus the lead in the first half at the Stadio Olimpico but picked up a knock following a clash with Lazio midfielder Luis Alberto. Ronaldo was replaced by Paulo Dybala in the 76th minute of the game.
Andrea Pirlo did not give any details on the severity of the injury but told DAZN:
"Ronaldo is a key player not only for us but for all the teams he has played for. Unfortunately, he had an ankle problem and was forced to leave the field."
The reigning Serie A champions held on to their one goal lead until second-half stoppage time, when Felipe Caicedo smashed the ball into the bottom corner from a Jooaquin Correa assist, salvaging a draw for Lazio.
Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo joins a lengthy injury list at the club
Andrea Pirlo was satisfied with his team's overall performance but was apprehensive of their slip up, which ended up costing Juventus two crucial points.
Pirlo went on to say that such losses in concentration could cost them the Serie A title come the end of the season.
"We had a good match, they had never shot us on goal, there were no signs, but we have to take care of every detail. We didn't manage the ball in the last 10 seconds. We are satisfied with the game, unfortunately not with the result," Pirlo said.
"The head comes first of all, today all the boys have given their best, shown that they can play these matches, if you go on to the pitch with a negative attitude, you have bad performances. We were missing the malice to achieve the decisive results. When they do it like they did today, they see the solutions," he added.
Cristiano Ronaldo had only recently returned from a spell on the sidelines after he had tested positive for the coronavirus.
Ronaldo has, however, been in top form since returning to the squad, scoring two goals and registering one assist in three games. The Portuguese now faces another period on the sidelines.
Cristiano Ronaldo's injury has coincided with the international break, which means the forward will be out of action for Portugal. Pirlo will hope that the five-time Ballon d'or winner recovers in time for Juventus' clash with Cagliari on November 22.
Juventus are now three points behind Serie A leaders AC Milan, but have more pressing issues to deal with. The Italian giants are currently missing Giorgio Chiellini, Alex Sandro and Matthijs de Ligt due to injury, and will now have to add Cristiano Ronaldo to that list.