Juventus forward Kenan Yıldız has been sidelined since 29 August 2026 with a foot injury, and with the international break now providing the Bianconeri a window to manage their walking wounded, his return is edging closer — though no official date has been confirmed. Our estimate, based on the nature of the injury, places a potential comeback around 10 October.
The timing matters. Juventus sit seventh in Serie A with ten points from five matches — three wins, a draw, and a defeat — and while the early-season numbers are not alarming, the club is without Champions League football this term, a situation their CEO Giovanni Carnevali has described as "a bloodbath." Every point carries extra weight when European qualification through the league table is the only route back to the continent.
Into this context drops a significant endorsement. Juventus head coach Luciano Spalletti has drawn a direct comparison between Yıldız and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia — a player Spalletti knows intimately from his time managing in Naples. The comparison is not decorative. Kvaratskhelia is among the most disruptive wide forwards in European football, and Spalletti's framing suggests he sees in the 21-year-old a similar capacity to unbalance defences when given the right environment and trust.
That trust, however, has been complicated by circumstance. Yıldız has managed just one Serie A appearance in 2026-27, registering neither a goal nor an assist, though he carried an average rating of 7.20 from that single outing — a number that suggests quality in limited exposure rather than a player struggling for form. His AI overall sits at 77 out of 100, with a potential of 85, figures that position him as a player still ascending rather than one who has found his ceiling.
The Bianconeri used the break to run a friendly against Cremonese — a 1-0 defeat — with Spalletti testing Andrea Cambiaso in a new role as part of the tactical tinkering that a congested injury list has forced. Yıldız was not involved. His absence from two consecutive matchday squads, against Sassuolo and then against Atalanta, has meant Spalletti has had to construct his attacking shape without the player he is publicly comparing to one of Serie A's most dynamic forwards.
When Yıldız does return, he steps back into a team that needs him to be exactly what Spalletti says he can be — not a promising youngster finding his feet, but a decisive presence capable of changing matches. The coach has set the standard publicly. Now the foot injury has to cooperate.