ROME: Croatia's national team doctor has slammed Juventus over a leg injury that has left attacking midfielder Marko Pjaca on the sidelines for club and country.
Pjaca joined the Italian giants in a summer move designed to bring him through the ranks and become a viable alternative to the club's established forwards as Juventus target success at home in Europe.
But barely three months after his move from Dinamo Zagreb, Pjaca remains in the treatment room alongside striker Paulo Dybala amid a busy period for the five-time consecutive Italian champions.
Croatia national team doctor Igor Boric accused Juventus of failing to properly diagnose a fibula fracture in Pjaca's leg.
"When the player came to us we quickly realised he had suffered a fracture to his fibula," Boric was quoted as saying in a report in La Gazzetta dello Sport Friday.
"But the response from Turin wasn't very conciliatory, they basically told us not to teach them how to do their job.
"When Pjaca went back to Turin, there was ample proof that what we had said all along was correct," added Boric, who claims Croatia's medical set-up is second to none.
"I'm not exaggerating when I say the professionals working with us are better than the ones at Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus."
Despite holding a four-point lead over Roma in Serie A, Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri will be hoping both Pjaca and Dybala can regain match fitness as quickly as possible ahead of key Champions League fixtures later this month, and in December.
Their absences have piled the pressure on Gonzalo Higuain and Mario Mandzukic, who have played the last four games together, including a disappointing 1-1 draw with Champions League group opponents Lyon last week.
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