What Bremer’s knee injury means for Juventus: Missed games and potential replacements

Juventus have confirmed that Gleison Bremer requires surgery on a torn meniscus in his left knee, which leaves head coach Igor Tudor with a bit of reshuffling to do ahead of the return of Serie A action this weekend. 

Juventus confirmed on Monday afternoon that Bremer had gone for a medical consultation in Lyon, that he had been diagnosed with a torn meniscus, and that he requires surgery to repair the damage. Initial reports suggest that he will be sidelined for at least a month. 

Assuming that Bremer is out of action until the November international break, as predicted by La Gazzetta dello Sport, Tudor will have to make alternative arrangements for games against Como, Real Madrid, Lazio, Sporting CP and the Derby della Mole against rivals Torino. 

Bremer had already been left out of the starting line-up for the last two Juventus matches, which gives some indications as to how Tudor could deal with this enforced absence. 

As things stand, Tudor has four senior centre-backs fit and available in Federico Gatti, Pierre Kalulu, Lloyd Kelly and Daniele Rugani. 

Gatti is considered the like-for-like replacement for Bremer, and is likely to be the go-to option in the middle of Tudor’s back three. The injury to Bremer is also expected to bring an increased number of opportunities for Rugani, who has only featured for 97 minutes so far this season. 

If Juventus are left particularly short on options, there is a possibility that Manuel Locatelli is deployed as part of the back three. Tudor also called up 21-year-old Next Gen centre-back Pedro Felipe for the recent 0-0 draw with Milan when Bremer was unavailable.