Giorgio Chiellini Will Be Back for Juventus Before End of Season, Says Agent

Giorgio Chiellini's agent, Davide Lippi, is confident the Juventus defender will be back in action before the end of the season following a cruciate ligament rupture.

The Italian suffered the injury in training in August, just one game into the season. Lippi told TMW Radio (h/t MailOnline's James Ayles):

"His recovery is progressing positively and the man has this magnetic positivity.

"It's incredible. He works so hard every day and when I call him up, he's the one who reassures me. He is making giant leaps forward.

"I don't know the precise date of his comeback, but it will certainly be in the New Year. 

"It might be the end of January, February or March, but he will certainly be there for the final part of the season."

Such a return could see the 35-year-old help Juventus at the business end of the season and be fit in time to feature for Italy at UEFA Euro 2020.

Chiellini scored the only goal of the game as Juventus opened their campaign with a 1-0 win at Parma before suffering the injury. Despite his consequent absence, Juve are top of Serie A after seven matches, with only Inter Milan and Hellas Verona boasting better defensive records than their six goals conceded.

The veteran has made 507 appearances for Juve since his arrival at the club in 2005, and he has played a key role in the Bianconeri's eight Serie A titles in a row:

After Juve had to come from behind to beat Brescia in September, Italian football writer David Amoyal noted Chiellini's importance to the team:

His injury came after Andrea Barzagli retired at the end of last season, but the club did bring in Matthijs de Ligt from Ajax in the summer. Reflecting on Juventus' 3-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the UEFA Champions League on October 1, Bleacher Report's Gianni Verschueren noted De Ligt and Leonardo Bonucci are forming a strong partnership in Chiellini's absence:

De Ligt is one of the brightest defenders in European football, but he's only 20.

Chiellini's vast experience and robust defending will be vital to Juve in the final months of the season if his recovery is on track, as the team will likely be balancing a domestic title race with their efforts to win the UEFA Champions League.