Juventus midfielder Arthur Melo to undergo surgery, likely to sit out for two months

Juventus FC midfielder Arthur Melo is expected to miss the start of the new Serie A season after surgery was lined up to resolve an injury that has been niggling him since February. As per sources, the Brazil international will be forced to sit out on the sidelines for approximately two months, ruling him out of the Old Lady's domestic openers. The 24-year-old did not receive good news from the Juve pre-season medical tests as he was not present at the training session with the team on July 15 morning or afternoon.

The former Barcelona midfielder has a post-traumatic injury of the soft tissue between the tibia and fibula in his right leg which had first appeared in February. As per reports, Arthur Melo had attempted to treat his injury with shockwaves and other therapies, however, the pain persisted.

Swap deal with Pjanic going the other way

Arthur began his career with Gremio, and won the Copa Libertadores in 2017. He signed for Barcelona for an initial fee of €31 million in 2018. In October 2018 during a match against Valencia, he attempted 142 passes, 135 of them successful, this was the highest number of successful passes in a single La Liga away game that any player had produced since Xavi in November 2012 against Levante.

Arthur's highest pass accuracy in a single match with Barcelona is 98.6%, which he achieved when he completed 71 passes out of 72 attempted in a Champions League knockout match against Lyon in 2019. Regarded as a promising young prospect in world football, former Barcelona midfielder Iniesta praised Arthur in February 2019, stating that his presence in midfield was highly positive for Barcelona's future at the time.

Arthur joined the Italian club Juventus in 2020 for approximately €72 million-plus bonuses, as part of an exchange deal with Miralem Pjanic. Unfortunately for the Brazilian, his first season with the Bianconeri was a letdown as he could not cement a starting eleven place and struggled with injuries.

Arthur made his senior debut for Brazil in 2018 after being capped by the Brazil youth team at the under-17 level. He was later part of the squad that won the 2019 Copa América.

Arthur will now have to work on convincing the returning Massimiliano Allegri, who will look to other midfielders as his absence will leave a hole in the midfield across initial weeks, with Juventus set to kick off their Serie A campaign against Udinese on August 22. However, Melo will be looking to make a return just in time for the first round of the UEFA Champions League group stage fixtures, which are due to take place over September 14 and September 15.

(Image Credits: @arthurhromelo - Twitter)