After suffering from flu over the past week, Maurizio Sarri has been diagnosed with pneumonia, the Juventus announced, leaving his status for the league opener questionable.
On Saturday, the 60-year-old coach missed Juve's friendly versus Triestina due to "the persistence" of flu, which reportedly started last week. By Monday, he was back at the club's training base but didn't oversee preps because he was still feeling unwell. After a series of examinations, Sarri's condition has been confirmed, and he is now beginning treatment.
The club quickly released a statement that read: "Maurizio Sarri, after having observed rest over the weekend, was at the JTC Continassa (Juve's training facility) today where he coordinated the work of his staff."
The statement added that the reason for his absence and that tests have been conducted that confirmed the disease. Therapy is reportedly going to be prescribed for the Juve coach.
"The coach has authorized the club to communicate his state of health," Juventus announced.
After leaving Chelsea after a single campaign at Stamford Bridge, Sari is set to start his first season with Juventus. His time with Chelsea ended with a third-place finish in the Premier League. The club also managed to appear in the Carabao Cup final and a victory in the Europa League.
The former boss for Napoli is expected to follow the success and triumphs of Juventus with previous coaches Massimiliano Allegri and Antonio Conte, who helped the club secure the last eight Serie A titles.
As the person responsible for Chelsea's Europa League triumph, Juventus is hoping that Sarri will deliver the same enthusiasm with the club this season. The club has failed to secure a Champions League title and hasn't been since 1996, despite taking part in two finals lead by Allegri.
Juve begin their Serie A campaign away against Parma on Saturday. It is unclear whether Sarri will be in a position to take charge of the team at Il Tardini.
Should Sarri mix any fixtures, it's expected that Sarri's assistant manager, Giovanni Martusciello, will take over. However, Juventus hasn't said anything about the matter. Neither did the coach himself nor Martusciello.
Sarri may well relish an early meeting against his old club, though reports of his illness put his involvement in doubt for that and future fixtures.
After the Parma contest, Juventus will return to their hometown to face Napoli, Sarri's old club, before an international break of two weeks.
