Sassuolo’s 3-2 victory over Juventus on Sunday night brought them level with the Turin club in the table, but Alberto Aquilani’s side have paid a significant price for that dramatic finish. Jay Idzes, one of the coach’s most reliable defensive figures, has suffered a moderate tear to the quadriceps in his left leg and is expected to be out for at least a month.
A costly week after Juventus
- Idzes featured in Sassuolo’s remarkable win over Juventus, a result that gave further weight to Aquilani’s early work with a reshaped squad.
- Medical checks then confirmed the Indonesian centre-back’s left-quadriceps injury, ruling him out of Friday’s trip to Monza.
- The 26-year-old will also miss the forthcoming Serie A break, with Sassuolo hoping the time away from league action may allow him to return for the home meeting with Milan on 11 October.
- Should his recovery require longer than the available weeks, Aquilani will have to manage without a defender who has become a fixed point in the new Sassuolo side.
Idzes arrived from Venezia two summers ago and has retained an important place through the changes around him. Aquilani has been combining the established core of the club with the many arrivals brought in during the summer, and the defender has been central to that transition.
His absence comes shortly after another setback in the attacking department. Cristian Volpato, the former Roma academy forward, was injured against Bologna and is also not expected back before the break.
Caleta-Car in line at Monza
The immediate answer at centre-back is likely to be Duje Caleta-Car. The Croatian defender, who turns 30 on Thursday, joined Sassuolo from Lyon near the end of the transfer window and was involved in the closing stages of the Juventus match.
Caleta-Car is now expected to take Idzes’ place against Monza on Friday. For Sassuolo, the challenge is to preserve the momentum created by their victory over Juventus while navigating a period in which Aquilani has lost two useful pieces of his developing team.
