USMNT midfielder Weston McKennie has been left out of Juventus’ squad for their Champions League tie against Aston Villa on Wednesday.
The 26-year-old played 80 minutes in Juve’s goalless draw with Milan on Saturday but will not travel to Birmingham with the rest of Thiago Motta’s squad.
McKennie started Juventus’ first three Champions League outings this season and came on as a second-half substitute during their 1-1 draw at Lille earlier this month.
The former Leeds United man joins Dusan Vlahovic, Arkadiusz Milik and Arthur Melo in missing the trip to Villa Park. McKennie’s USMNT team-mate Timothy Weah has been included as one of four forwards.
There will be no Villa reunion for Douglas Luiz, who spent five years with the Premier League club before joining Juventus last summer. The Brazil international has missed Juventus’ past five Serie A games through injury and has not recovered in time to face his former side.
Meanwhile, defender Juan Cabal is set for an extended period on the sidelines after having an operation to repair the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee.
The defender sustained the injury during training before Colombia’s World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Ecuador and underwent successful surgery on Tuesday.
Juventus are 11th in the Champions League standings with two wins, one draw and one defeat from their opening four games. They face Manchester City and Club Bruges before concluding the league phase of the competition at home to Benfica on January 29.
(ANP via Getty Images)
