Spalletti confirms Juventus return for forgotten centre-forward against Roma

Luciano Spalletti has confirmed that forgotten Juventus striker Arkadiusz Milik will be part of the matchday squad to take on Roma in Serie A on Saturday evening, well over 18 months since his last appearance for the Old Lady.

Spalletti confirms long-awaited Milik return for Juventus vs. Roma

The Bianconeri will host the Giallorossi on Saturday evening in a massive clash in the race for Champions League football. Juventus are in fifth place on 26 points heading into the weekend, and have an opportunity to cut the gap between themselves and Roma, who are in fourth on 30 points.

Spalletti has had to cope with the loss of centre-forward Dusan Vlahovic, who will be out for several more months as the result of an adductor injury, but he will recover another option in attack against Roma this weekend.

TURIN, ITALY – NOVEMBER 29: Dusan Vlahovic of Juventus FC lies injured during the Serie A match between Juventus FC and Cagliari Calcio at Allianz Stadium on November 29, 2025 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

That is because Milik returned to first-team training with the rest of the group earlier this week, 550 days on from the knee ligament injury he picked up in June of 2024. The 31-year-old has not played for Juventus since the final day of the 2023-24 campaign: A 2-0 victory over Monza.

Speaking during his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon, Spalletti confirmed that Milik will be part of the squad to take on Roma in Serie A this weekend.

“Milik will be called up tomorrow,” the Bianconeri head coach confirmed.

ROME, ITALY – APRIL 23: Arkadiusz Milik of Juventus celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the Coppa Italia Semi-final Second Leg match between SS Lazio and Juventus FC at Stadio Olimpico on April 23, 2024 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)

“I saw him looking as happy as a youngster who has the opportunity to play his first game. He’s a guy who has a lot of enthusiasm and knows the role that he plays very well. He has great physical and technical characteristics, so he will come with us.”