Juventus midfielder Sami Khedira has been diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat and will be sidelined while he undergoes treatment.
At his pre-match news conference, Juve manager Massimiliano Allegri confirmed Paulo Dybala will start Wednesday’s match against Atletico but did not disclose any details on Khedira, saying the club would later issue a statement on his condition and only revealed that the midfielder had stayed in Italy to undergo tests.
Following the news conference, the club released a statement on their website confirming that an “atrial arrhythmia” had been detected.
The condition causes an irregular and often abnormally fast heart rate and can lead to issues including dizziness, shortness of breath and tiredness.
Khedira, 31, has only played 15 times this season because of injuries.
“Sami Khedira remained in Turin for medical examinations, from which emerged the opportunity to perform an electrophysiological study and eventual treatment of an atrial arrhythmia which appeared today [Tuesday],” Juve said in a statement.
Khedira had trained as normal on Monday and Tuesday, with the former Real Madrid player posting a picture from Tuesday’s session on club’s and his Twitter feed.
Juve already have a commanding lead in Serie A, advantage over second-place Napoli, so many fans and pundits are claiming they can afford to prioritise European fixtures in the second half of the season.