Dusan Vlahovic Injury: How Reworked Juventus Attack Affects Betting Sites | OneFootball

Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after picking up an injury in the 2-1 Serie A win over Cagliari in late November. The club confirmed the 25-year-old underwent successful surgery to repair a tendon in his left adductor. 

Vlahovic will start rehabilitation but faces a 14-week layoff, ruling him out until March. It’s brutal timing for a Juventus side already struggling in seventh place with just six Serie A wins. For a club that once dominated Italian football, the current form makes for grim reading on betting sites this season. 

The Serbian had finally found rhythm under Luciano Spalletti, starting nine of the last ten games across all competitions. His absence leaves Juve without their main goal threat during a critical stretch. 

They face Atalanta in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals in February and still have a slim chance of reaching the Champions League playoff round with fixtures against Benfica and Monaco coming up.

Last weekend’s 2-1 defeat to Napoli summed up the problem. Spalletti’s first loss since October exposed what everyone already knew. Juventus struggle to score as much as they defend. Without Vlahovic, that issue becomes a crisis.

The Attacking Options: Who Steps Up?

Juventus have built their identity around a main striker for over a decade. Tevez, Morata, Higuaín, Dybala, Ronaldo, and most recently Vlahovic have been providers for the Old Lady. There’s always been someone to build attacks around. Even the messy period after Ronaldo left in 2021 proved how badly the system needs a focal point.

Now they’re stuck with two summer signings who’ve scored three goals between them all season.

Lois Openda

The Belgian arrived from RB Leipzig for €44 million with a reputation as a dangerous runner. He’s rapid. He can stretch defences. But his finishing has been bad at times.

Openda finally broke his duck against Bodø/Glimt two weeks ago after going over 1,000 minutes without scoring. His last goal before that? April, when he was still at Leipzig. 

Against Serie A’s deeper defensive blocks, he looks lost. His positioning is poor and his decision-making worse.

Openda works best against high defensive lines where he can run in behind. Against teams that sit deep, he offers nothing. For betting markets, he’s pure volatility. Could grab a brace one week or disappear completely the next.

Jonathan David

The Canadian joined on a free from Lille with huge expectations. At €6 million per year, he’s the squad’s second-highest earner. His CV looked perfect: 84 goals in 183 games for Lille, one of Europe’s most wanted strikers.

He scored on his debut against Parma in August. Nothing since. The Canadian prefers dropping deep to link play rather than pinning defenders. That worked brilliantly in Ligue 1 but Serie A is different. 

When he drops, Juventus have no penalty box presence. He’s technically gifted but asking him to be the main goalscorer means asking him to be something he’s never been.

David was Lille’s leading scorer and often the focal point, but he wasn’t a lone “main man” in the way Vlahovic or Cristiano were at Juventus. 

Spalletti could try and experiment pairing him alongside Kenan Yildiz in a 4-2-3-1, using both as creative tens with David highest. Some have floated Yildiz as a false nine with David and Conceição on either side. Both systems create chances, but neither solves the issue when it comes to scoring. 

Two goals in all competitions between two strikers who cost significant money and wages. Vlahovic has six despite his own struggles. The numbers don’t lie.

Sporting director Damien Comolli is under serious pressure. His summer data-driven rebuild was meant to move away from a reliance on one superstar striker. When your identity is built around having a main man, and you replace him with a committee, you have to make sure the committee can actually score.

Will The Transfer Market Help?

Juventus won’t cut their losses in January because selling now would tank the players’ value further. Instead, they’re banking on both finding form during Vlahovic’s absence.

The Old Lady aren’t signing another striker in January. Reports from Turin confirm midfield is the priority. Names like Sergej Milinković-Savić and Morten Hjulmand keep coming up as targets to close the quality gap with Inter and Milan.

From a budget perspective, it makes sense. They already spent big on Openda and David last summer. Adding a fourth striker creates a logjam, especially when Vlahovic returns in March and potentially leaves in the summer window.

The alternatives make for tough reading. A short-term loan for a veteran, like recalling Arkadiusz Milik, feels desperate. Promoting 18-year-old academy product Caleb Yirenkyi offers energy but little else. No elite striker is available mid-season anyway, and anyone joining knows they’re a stopgap.

Juventus are stuck riding this out with what they have.

The Bigger Questions

The uncertainty creates value when it comes to watching the coming weeks. Spaletti’s attacking output is now genuinely unpredictable. 

Champions League qualification is the real story. Juventus barely cling to playoff positions. Every match matters, and nobody knows if these strikers can deliver when it counts.

For in-play betting, Juventus matches become fascinating. They defend well enough to keep games tight but lack the firepower to kill teams off. Expect low-scoring affairs with late drama.

The Coppa Italia represents their best trophy chance. The league is probably gone. But three months is a long time to survive on hope and two misfiring strikers.

The identity that carried Juventus through a decade of dominance is broken. They’re no longer favorites for anything except maybe Europa League qualification. The betting markets reflect that reality.

For Juventus fans, it’s uncomfortable viewing. For neutrals watching the odds, it’s exactly when things get interesting. Chaos creates opportunity, and right now Juventus are pure chaos.