Maurizio Sarri Says Cristiano Ronaldo Out of Juventus' Trip to Atalanta

Juventus manager Maurizio Sarri has confirmed Cristiano Ronaldo will miss out on Juventus' trip to Atalanta in Serie A on Saturday:

In the weeks prior to the international break, Ronaldo played for the Bianconeri with a knee injury. 

Ronaldo was substituted in consecutive matches for Juve, in the 82nd minute against Lokomotiv Moscow in the UEFA Champions League and, more notably, against AC Milan after just 55 minutes in Serie A.

The forward appeared unhappy to be withdrawn and left the Allianz Stadium to go home before the final whistle. He later explained he had been playing with an injury:

His knee issue did not prevent him from starting both of Portugal's UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers during the international break, though. 

Ronaldo bagged a hat-trick in a 6-0 win over Lithuania in the first:

He added another goal as the Selecao beat Luxembourg 2-0 in the second:

Although the 34-year-old was able to perform well against lesser opposition with Portugal, his club form has been disappointing of late; he has scored just twice for Juve since the October international break.

Leaving him out to recover could make the Italian giants more effective in the final third on Saturday.

Sarri also gave an update on who could be joining Ronaldo on the sidelines and who might feature in Bergamo, per Juventus' official website.

"I have some players with ailments. Alex Sandro's problem is less serious than it had initially seemed, while we have an adductor problem Adrien Rabiot and Juan Cuadrado. Miralem Pjanic will be available. Blaise Matuidi still feels a little pain, but he does more than that. Yesterday he played the whole training session with us, he's available."

Ronaldo's absence on Saturday gives him a chance to be fresh against Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, and Juve will have a better chance of securing three points if he is fit and firing.