Matthijs de Ligt has been named in the Juventus squad to face Bologna on Sunday, having returned two negative tests for coronavirus.

The 21-year-old tested positive for Covid-19 following I Bianconeri’s 3-1 victory over Milan on January 6 and was forced to watch from the sidelines as his teammates lost to Inter and then beat Napoli in the Italian Supercup.

But De Ligt is back in the Juve squad and could feature against Bologna on Sunday afternoon after he returned two negative tests, meaning he is fully recovered from the virus and can rejoin the rest of the squad.

„Matthijs de Ligt carried out, as per protocol, two controls of molecular test (swab) for Covid-19 with negative results,“ the club announced on their website.

„Therefore, the player has recovered and is no longer subjected to the isolation regime. He will join the team at the J Hotel for the retreat this evening and will be included in the squad list for tomorrow’s [Sunday] match.“

This news comes as a huge boost for Andrea Pirlo and Juventus, given that the Italian coach has rarely enjoyed the luxury of having three fully fit centre-backs at his disposal this season. Full-back Danilo has often been forced to drop into the heart of the defence, so De Ligt’s return could see the end of square pegs in round holes in the Bianconeri backline.

Juve will be eyeing this contest against Bologna as an opportunity to close the gap on their fellow scudetto rivals, after both Milan and Inter dropped points on Saturday.

Victory for Pirlo’s side would see them narrow the deficit to I Rossoneri to seven points, while they also hold a game in hand on the leaders.