Juventus boss Andrea Pirlo admits Alvaro Morata ‘felt faint’ and ‘was sick’ after Porto defeat

Andrea Pirlo has given a worrying insight into the physical health of striker Alvaro Morata following Juventus‘ shock defeat to Porto on Wednesday night.

Morata was used in the match as an emergency substitute on the hour mark, with Juventus trailing to the Portuguese side and finding themselves desperately in need of goals.

Morata had only recently returned to the matchday squad after suffering from the flu, but was brought on in place of Weston McKennie in hope of turning the tie in his side’s favour.

Andrea Pirlo has admitted Alvaro Morata, who has recently suffered flu, was sick after the Porto game on Wednesday as Juventus were beaten in the Champions League

Pirlo, in his post-match interview following the 2-1 first-leg defeat, outlined that the decision to introduce Morata may have been a poor one.

He told reporters: ‘Alvaro was not well before the match and he was sick even when it was over.

‘I chose Dejan Kulusevski from the first minute because Morata was not well due to a health problem: he has not been at his best for a few days, since he came back from the flu he has not recovered well. 

‘He went on the pitch when he needed it but at the end of the game he had to lie down, he passed out, he was very tired. 

Morata was thrown on as an emergency substitute but soon complained of ‘feeling faint’

‘Let’s say it was a bit at the limit of his energies’. The news was also reported in Italian daily publication Corriere dello Sport because it was unusual for a football player who had just suffered a fever to play in a match.

Suffering from the virus has considerably weakened the striker, making him unable to finish training at 100% in the last few weeks despite the fact that Pirlo has recently decided to rest his number 9 for many minutes of play, leaving him on the bench. 

What is surprising is the great muscular fragility of the players at Pirlo’s disposal. The number of injured people continues to rise and Leonardo Bonucci, Georgio Chiellini, Paulo Dybala, Arthur, Aaron Ramsey and Juan Cuadrado each remain on the treatment table for joint, muscle and bone problems. 

Despite the arrival of the ‘muscle wizard’ Paolo Bertelli, with whom Pirlo had worked in the national team when he was a player, the number of injuries is very similar to last year.

Results are not falling for Pirlo, and the legend turned coach has a number of player injured

In the case of former Arsenal man Ramsey, the Welsh midfielder is always injured and has never had continuity of performance in recent months due to his fornic physical fragility. 

At the moment the club’s medical staff are not under pressure but the average number of injured players is very high at the most important moment of the season in Serie A and in the Champions League.