Juventus center-back Giorgio Chiellini highly doubtful for Champions League Final

Bad news for Juventus, and good news for Barcelona as both teams get ready for the UEFA Champions League Final next Saturday.

Star Italian center-back Giorgio Chiellini was forced out of Wednesday's training session after pulling his left calf muscle. He practiced for just a few minutes, and quickly went out once he felt the injury. There is no further update on his condition, since he will be evaluated on Thursday morning to determine the extent of the problem, but his initial status is "doubtful" according to the club.

It's not really nice to speculate on injuries, but this would be just terrible for Juve's chances. An underrated but fantastic center-back, Chiellini is a key piece of the Italian side's defensive system, and the biggest hope of The Old Lady to stop Lionel Messi, who usually plays on his side of the pitch.

If Chiellini is not able to go on Saturday, his replacement would be Leonardo Bonucci, another very capable defender. The problem: Bonucci tore his hamstring just two weeks ago, and while he has practiced normally this week, he's not close to 100% condition.

Let's see how this develops.