Serie A: How Much Does Giorgio Chiellini's Injury Hurt Juventus?

After defender Giorgio Chiellini suffered his knee injury this weekend in the Berlusconi Trophy match against AC Milan, there were fears that the rising star would be out for six months.

However, the injury was not as severe as many people feared.

Even though he will be out for up to two months, the 24-year-old Italian international was diagnosed with just a minor ligament sprain in his left knee. He had the same type of injury last season in his other knee and missed the beginning of the second half of the season.

“Any risk of more serious damage has been exorcized, which would have meant missing most of the season," the defender told the Juventus Channel on Monday. "Now I'll concentrate on resting for a few days and then I'll start working to get back on the pitch, but without rushing."

So now the question is, what does Juventus manager Claudio Ranieri do to fill the large gap Chiellini is leaving in the center of the defense?

If he had been out for a longer period of time, the reason to sign a big-time defender would be more clear. However, six weeks is not as bad.

However, with Chiellini out, Juve's backline now lacks the any name recognition other than keeper Gianluigi Buffon.

Chiellini's central partner, Nicola Legrottaglie, had a surprising season last year, but how much of that was because he was playing next to Chiellini? He will now likely be partnered with Sweden international Olof Mellberg, who came to Turin from Aston Villa this summer.

Obviously the hole will be a large one to fill for Mellberg and adjusting to Serie A will be on the table for him as well. It was evident that Mellberg and Legrottaglie are still adjusting to each other when they had a sub-par performance after Chiellini was carried off this weekend.

Zdenek Grygera, who has established himself as the starting right back for Juve, can also play in the center, as he has shown on many occasions for the Czech Republic. On the left, Christian Molinaro has world-class speed, but can't keep the ball to save his life. He may soon be replaced by youngster Paolo De Ceglie, who has just returned from Olympic duty with Italy.

The only problem is that on more than one occasion, the Juve hierarchy has declared that the transfer market is closed, despite the Italian media linking the Turin giants to new players everyday. So that rules out signing a new defender to fill the gap until Chiellini returns.

However, with some uncertainty whether Legrottaglie can repeat the same kind of season he did last time around, the unwillingness to sign a big-time defender will go unnoticed.

While the time he will be on the sidelines is only around six weeks, getting into a early hole in Serie A could put an early end to any title hopes Juve had. Just use AC Milan as an example last season. Despite their late charge, they still finished in fifth place, and will now "enjoy" their time in the UEFA Cup.

Thankfully, by the time the end of September rolls around, things may be all back to normal in Turin for the black and white.