:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/45884530/461808886.0.jpg)
It was always going to be a close call as to whether Juventus maestro Andrea Pirlo would be healthy and ready to go for the bianconeri's second leg against Borussia Dortmund in mid-March. Just because of how the fixture list is setup and the amount time in between each Champions League game against Dortmund, Pirlo would have to be right on point to even have a chance to play in Germany come March 18.
That being said, there may be a Pirlo sighting in the near future, folks.
According to both La Stampa and Tuttosport on Friday, Pirlo is pain free and hoping to be ready for selection in Juve's most important game of the season to date on Tuesday night in Germany. Pirlo has been out ever since Juve's first-leg win over Dortmund on Feb. 24 when he had to be replaced by Roberto Pereyra after just 37 minutes because of injury.
Will he actually be ready?
Max Allegri had this to say about the matter at his pre-match press conference in the lead up to Saturday's Serie A match against Palermo.
.@OfficialAllegri: "We're assessing @Pirlo_official on a daily basis and will hope to have him back for #BVBJuve." #PalermoJuve #UCL
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) March 13, 2015
Okay, so that's about as much of an Allegri answer we've come to expect from the Juventus manager without an actual answer being given. Way to go, Max, you've mastered the non-answer game to the highest degree.
It's understandable that Allegri isn't going to declare anything right now based on 1) Keeping Borussia Dortmund on their toes about how healthy he truly is; and 2) Pirlo could very well be a last-minute decision at Juve's final training session before they play in Germany on Tuesday.
No matter what, though, because just a few days remain before Juventus tries to close out the Dortmund tie, we'll have an answer about Pirlo's health status sooner rather than later.
