Juventus injuries: Which changes could Spalletti make to his UEFA squad list?

TURIN, ITALY - AUGUST 29: Players of Juventus pose for a team photograph before the Serie A match between Juventus and Parma Calcio at Allianz Stadium on August 29, 2026 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

Juventus have already been depleted by injuries in the early stages of the 2026-27 season, which has left Luciano Spalletti looking at the possibility of making changes to his UEFA squad list. But which alterations will he actually be able to make and will he actually do it?

Juventus were without nine first team players ahead of their fourth Serie A match of the 2026-27 season, which ended in a 3-2 defeat away against Sassuolo. 

There was no Andrea Cambiaso, Juan Cabal, Manuel Locatelli, Khephren Thuram, Weston McKennie, Kenan Yildiz, Jeremie Boga, Jeff Ekhator or Arkadsiuz Milik against the Neroverdi, although McKennie and Cambiaso have recently returned to full training with the first team. 

The major concerns revolve around Locatelli, Thuram and Yildiz, all of whom are expected to be out of action for another few months. So, what do the rules say about a change to UEFA squads and will Spalletti be tempted to make any alterations? 

Juventus submitted their UEFA squad on September 2, the day after the close of the summer transfer window. Those selections are largely locked in until the end of the Europa League league phase in January. At that point, until the new deadline of February 4, clubs are able to register up to three new players in their UEFA squads ahead of the knock-out rounds. 

Up until matchday six of the league phase, clubs can temporarily replace a player who has been injured or ill for a period of at least 60 days, as long as the new player was registered with the club before the September 2 squad submission deadline. 

As for Juventus, Locatelli, Thuram and Yildiz are all likely to miss more than 60 days of action, but if Spalletti is to make any changes to his UEFA squad list, Locatelli is the only one who could realistically be replaced. 

That is because Thuram, expected to be out of action until 2027, was not included in Juventus’s UEFA squad anyway. Meanwhile Yildiz, a youth team graduate, was named on Juve’s List B, which means that he is not currently occupying one of the more valuable List A slots. 

And, if Juventus are to replace Locatelli, it would have to be with another Italian player to make sure that the squad still adheres to the homegrown players quota. That means that he could only be replaced by an Italian who is not already on Juve’s List A, which would mean either centre-back Daniele Rugani or centre-forward Jeff Ekhator being called up. Of course, neither are direct replacements. 

According to Tuttosport, Juventus had briefly considered replacing the injured Boga with Edon Zhegrova, who was also left off the UEFA squad list, but Boga’s injury lay-off may be shorter than 60 days, which means that Juve would not be able to replace him. 

Current Juventus UEFA squad 

List A

Goalkeepers: Guglielmo Vicario, Kamil Grabara, Carlo Pinsoglio.

Defenders: Zeki Celik, Gleison Bremer, Federico Gatti, Lloyd Kelly, Pierre Kalulu, Andrea Cambiaso, Jhon Lucumi, Juan Cabal. 

Midfielders: Manuel Locatelli, Teun Koopmeiners, Douglas Luiz, Weston McKennie, Pape Matar Sarr. 

Forwards: Francisco Conceicao, Randal Kolo Muani, Jeremie Boga, Kerim Alajbegovic, Nick Woltemade, Nico Gonzalez.

List B

Kenan Yildiz, Riccardo Radu, Augusto Owusu, Raffaele Huli, Arman Durmisi, Destiny Elmioghale.