Official: Spalletti confirms two major Juventus absences in first squad announcement | OneFootball

Luciano Spalletti has confirmed his first Juventus squad following his appointment as head coach on Thursday, and has been forced to leave out two key first-team players in Kenan Yildiz and Lloyd Kelly.

Spalletti was appointed head coach of Juventus on Thursday, signing an initial short-term contract until the end of the 2025-26 season. He replaced Igor Tudor, who had gone eight matches without a win across all competitions at the end of his tenure, had lost all of his last three and had not seen his side score in any of his last four.

Spalletti, who signed his contracts on Thursday and got to work in Continassa on Friday, will have an away trip against Cremonese on Saturday evening to begin his Bianconeri tenure.

Luciano Spalletti announced as new Juventus coach with Damien Comolli

Spalletti has named a squad of 22 travelling players for the Cremonese match, but has left star attacker Yildiz at home.

The Turkish gem has recently been suffering with patellar tendinopathy, sometimes referred to as jumper’s knee in his left leg. This is effectively an inflammation that affects the tendon beneath the kneecap. He has been wearing a bandage around the affected knee in all of his recent Old Lady outings.

TURIN, ITALY – OCTOBER 29: Kenan Yildiz of Juventus FC is tackled by Arthur Atta of Udinese Calcio during the Serie A match between Juventus FC and Udinese Calcio at on October 29, 2025 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

That issue kept him out of the starting line-up for Tudor’s final match in charge of Juventus, a 1-0 defeat against Lazio last weekend, but he returned and played the full 90 minutes during the 3-1 win over Udinese on Wednesday night.

As per Ilbianconero.com, Yildiz will be left at home on this occasion so that he can rest his knee.

There is less cause for concern regarding centre-back Kelly, who has reportedly been suffering with back pain and is not expected to be sidelined for an extended period.

There is a boost for the Juventus midfield department, though, as Khephren Thuram, who missed the 3-1 win over Udinese, has returned and is in contention to feature.

Confirmed Juventus squad for Cremonese

Goalkeepers: Di Gregorio, Perin.

Defenders: Gatti, Kalulu, Rugani, J.Mario, Cambiaso, Rouhi, Scaglia, Pedro Felipe.

Midfielders: Locatelli, Koopmeiners, Adzic, Kostic, Thuram, Miretti, McKennie.

Forwards: Conceicao, Vlahovic, Zhegrova, Openda, David.