Juventus without Khéphren Thuram for at least four months: after knee surgery, return only in 2027
Juventus suffered a major blow in midfield right at the start of the 2026/27 season. French international Khéphren Thuram underwent surgery on his right knee in Lyon on 3 September due to problems with the patellar cartilage, and according to Italian reports he will be sidelined for at least four months. This means that his return to the pitch is expected only during 2027, provided that rehabilitation proceeds according to plan and without complications. The Turin club confirmed that the procedure was successfully completed and that Thuram is already beginning his rehabilitation programme on 4 September. On the same day, Juventus also announced a new injury to defender Juan Cabal, who was diagnosed with a minor muscle injury in his left thigh.
Surgery in Lyon after months of problems
According to Juventus's official medical statement, Thuram underwent chondroplasty to treat chondropathy of the patella in his right knee. The procedure was performed at Hôpital Privé Jean Mermoz in Lyon by French surgeon Bertrand Sonnery-Cottet, while Juventus medical department head Luca Stefanini was also present for the operation. The club announced that the surgery was successful, but did not provide a precise date for his return to the pitch in its official statement. Italian news agency ANSA and La Gazzetta dello Sport report that a layoff of at least four months is expected, making it realistic that the 25-year-old midfielder will play again only at the beginning of 2027. At this stage, however, it is not possible to determine an exact return date in advance because it will depend on how the knee responds to the procedure, the course of rehabilitation and the gradual increase in workload.
La Gazzetta dello Sport reported that the problem did not arise immediately before the operation, but had been affecting Thuram since the closing stages of the previous season. According to that source, the French midfielder was unable to fully resolve the issue through a conservative approach during the summer, which is why he trained separately and missed the pre-season matches. After additional examinations and consultations, the decision was made to proceed with surgery. This development explains why Juventus decided not to continue waiting and trying to bring the player back to full rhythm without an operation. The longer-term goal now is to stabilise the condition of the knee and enable Thuram to return without a recurrence of the problem that had already been limiting him for months.
Chondroplasty is a procedure in which damaged areas of articular cartilage are treated, and the extent of the procedure and the duration of recovery depend on the location and size of the damage as well as the demands placed on the athlete. Hospital for Special Surgery states that such procedures may involve removing or smoothing unstable areas of cartilage in order to reduce mechanical symptoms in the joint. For a professional footballer, returning to competitive rhythm does not only mean the absence of pain, but also regaining full strength, explosiveness, changes of direction, endurance and confidence in contact situations. For that reason, the four-month estimate should be viewed as an approximate minimum period rather than a guaranteed date of return. Juventus has not yet published a detailed rehabilitation protocol or specified the match in which Thuram could return.
Thuram's absence changes Luciano Spalletti's plans
The prolonged absence of one of Juventus's most physically powerful midfielders represents a serious tactical problem for coach Luciano Spalletti. The club extended its agreement with Spalletti in April 2026 until 30 June 2028, so the current squad has already been shaped according to his demands for intensity, movement between the lines and aggressive occupation of space. Thuram is valuable in such a system because of his ability to carry the ball, compete in duels and move play from the defensive to the attacking phase. His physical presence is particularly important in matches in which Juventus must control a large amount of space in midfield. Spalletti will now have to distribute that responsibility among other players, and at a time when domestic and European schedules are quickly beginning to overlap.
On 1 September, two days before Thuram's operation, Juventus signed Senegalese midfielder Pape Matar Sarr from Tottenham. The club presented him as a dynamic and versatile player capable of providing physical strength, technical quality and intensity in both phases of the game, making him a logical candidate to take over part of the minutes that would otherwise have belonged to Thuram. Nevertheless, the Frenchman's absence cannot be reduced to a simple one-for-one replacement, because a midfield role is also built through automatisms, relationships with the other midfielders and the specific requirements of individual matches. Juventus's current squad also includes Manuel Locatelli, Teun Koopmeiners, Weston McKennie and other options in midfield, but the distribution of responsibilities will now have to be different. Spalletti must also take player workload into account because, already in September, the season is entering a rhythm of matches across multiple competitions.
Thuram's importance to Juventus is not merely a projection based on his player profile. According to club data published in March 2026, the Frenchman had made 89 appearances for Juventus from his arrival from Nice in the summer of 2024 up to that point, scoring eight goals and providing a double-digit number of assists in all competitions. In the 2025/26 season alone, by the end of March, he had made 38 appearances, scored three goals and provided four assists, while the club particularly highlighted his energy, physical strength, ball control and ability to create numerical superiority through dribbling. Those figures further demonstrate that he is not a deep-rotation player, but a footballer who already had an important role in the team. Because of the knee operation, Juventus will have to play a large part of the autumn portion of the new season without him.
Left off the UEFA list, he will miss at least the entire autumn phase of the Europa League
The long-term nature of the injury is also evident in Juventus's decision regarding player registration for the UEFA Europa League. On 2 September, the club published its squad list for the league phase of the competition, and Thuram is not on it. UEFA confirmed the squads of all 36 clubs participating in that phase the following day, making it clear that Juventus will enter the European autumn without the French midfielder. The Italian side plays its first Europa League match at home against Dutch club N.E.C. on 17 September, while the first six rounds of the league phase are played through 10 December. The final two rounds are scheduled for 21 and 28 January 2027, but any possibility of Thuram appearing in European competition will also depend on his health and on the rules governing player registration for the continuation of the competition.
For Juventus, this is an important detail because the minimum four-month recovery period practically coincides with the entire autumn part of the season. Even if Thuram returns to full training at the beginning of January, a return to the competitive squad usually requires an additional period of adjustment to maximum workloads. The club therefore has to plan without him through a series of Serie A matches and at least the opening European phase. UEFA's schedule has the Europa League league phase continuing until the end of January, while Juventus faces a number of strong opponents in the domestic league during the same period. This increases the importance of squad depth and reduces the room for rushing his return too soon after surgery.
The first major test without Thuram comes immediately. According to the Serie A schedule, Juventus hosts Milan at Allianz Stadium on 6 September in the third round of the league, just three days after the French midfielder's operation. That is followed by an away match at Sassuolo, and then the European campaign begins against N.E.C. on 17 September. Such a schedule demonstrates how quickly Spalletti must find a new balance in midfield. A medical problem that had for months primarily been a question of Thuram's availability has now also become one of the key issues in managing Juventus's squad during the first part of the season.
A new problem for Juan Cabal as well
In the same medical report, Juventus also announced that Juan Cabal suffered an injury during training on 2 September. The following day, the Colombian defender underwent additional tests at the club's J|medical centre, and scans showed a low-grade injury to the semimembranosus muscle of his left thigh. Juventus did not publish a precise recovery timeframe in its official statement, so the date of his return has not yet been officially confirmed. ANSA, citing information about the player's condition, reports an absence of approximately one month. If that estimate is confirmed, Cabal will certainly miss the immediate fixtures and part of the September schedule.
Cabal's injury further complicates the situation because it occurred just as the team had already lost Thuram for a longer period. The Colombian was also included on Juventus's UEFA list for the Europa League league phase, meaning that the club had counted on his availability for European matches. Spalletti will now have to adjust his defensive options at least temporarily as well, depending on how long the recovery from the left-thigh muscle injury lasts. The prognosis for minor muscle injuries is generally more favourable than for knee surgery, but the return of a professional footballer still depends on clinical findings, functional tests and tolerance of maximum workloads. Juventus therefore currently has a firmer timeframe for Thuram than for Cabal, even though the Frenchman's absence will be several times longer.
The injuries to the two players come at a sensitive moment for the club. At the end of August, Juventus had already announced that Kenan Yildiz underwent surgery for a fracture at the base of the fifth metatarsal bone in his left foot, while Jeff Ekhator was diagnosed with a moderate injury to the semitendinosus muscle of his right thigh. This means that the list of unavailable players has grown immediately before a period in which the number of matches is rapidly increasing. For the coaching staff, the priority will not only be to find short-term replacements but also to prevent the heavier workload on the remaining players from creating additional problems. Workload management is therefore becoming just as important as tactical adjustment.
The French international whose development became closely linked with Juventus
Khéphren Thuram was born on 26 March 2001 in Reggio Emilia, at a time when his father Lilian Thuram was playing in Italy. He developed as a footballer in France, went through Clairefontaine and Monaco, and spent five years at Nice before joining Juventus. The Turin club signed him in the summer of 2024, and since then he has become an important part of the midfield. The French Football Federation states that he made his senior international debut on 24 March 2023 against the Netherlands and that he has so far made four appearances for France. According to the federation's records, his most recent international appearance was in November 2025 against Azerbaijan in World Cup qualifying.
The long-term injury therefore also has consequences beyond the club level. Thuram will lose a large part of the autumn period in which he would otherwise have been able to compete for minutes with the national team, while a return in 2027 places the emphasis above all on complete physical recovery. For Juventus, the most important thing is that the months-long problem that was not resolved through conservative treatment does not return in the same form after the operation. The club has already confirmed that rehabilitation begins on 4 September, but has not provided a more detailed schedule for the individual phases of recovery. Any more precise estimate of his return will therefore have to wait for the knee's response over the coming weeks and months.
From a sporting perspective, the news is clear: Juventus will be without a player who was expected to be one of the important links in midfield at least until the beginning of 2027. According to the club, the operation was successful, which is the first and most important step, but Thuram now faces a long rehabilitation process. In the meantime, Spalletti will have to redistribute minutes, integrate new signings into the system and find solutions for a period in which Juventus is competing simultaneously in Serie A and the Europa League. Cabal's injury further reduces the room for manoeuvre, although his absence should be considerably shorter. The beginning of September has therefore brought the Turin club not only tactical but also serious medical challenges that could affect the entire first part of the season.
Sources:
- Juventus FC – official medical bulletin on Khéphren Thuram's operation and Juan Cabal's injury (link)
- ANSA – report on Thuram's estimated four-month absence and approximately one month out for Cabal (link)
- La Gazzetta dello Sport – context on the months-long knee problems and the decision to undergo surgery (link)
- Juventus FC – official player list for the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League league phase (link)
- UEFA – confirmed dates for the 2026/27 Europa League league phase and Juventus's schedule (link)
- Juventus FC – official announcement of Pape Matar Sarr's arrival from Tottenham (link)
- Juventus FC – data on Thuram's appearances and performances through March 2026 (link)
- Fédération Française de Football – national-team profile and record of Khéphren Thuram's appearances (link)
- Hospital for Special Surgery – specialist context on chondroplasty and procedures involving knee articular cartilage (link)