Jonna Sundling kept Sweden on top of the Winter Olympics medal table as she landed the country's fourth gold, leading a 1-2 in cross-country skiing.

Sundling took the women's sprint glory ahead of compatriot Maja Dahlqvist, with Sweden now having six medals overall at Beijing 2022.

The champion labelled the track "the toughest I have competed on", and relished having Dahlqvist and another Swedish athlete, Emma Ribom, for company. Ribom finished sixth.

"It feels good to have them by my side at the start line, it feels like we are in a training session but this is the Olympics," Sundling said. "It was fun to be three Swedes in the final, it's amazing."

Dahlqvist found the event so taxing that she threw up after crossing the finish line in second place.

She said: "I was thinking it's the last thing I ever do and that if there was one race I would push as hard as I could, it was today. 

"I puked five times after. I was super happy and super relieved, too. Now I feel better. I am just so happy. It was so awesome that we could make it a double."

Oskar Eriksson and Almida De Val delivered a bronze for Sweden in curling's mixed doubles, beating Great Britain in the third-place match, before Italy defeated Norway in the final.

Netherlands jumped a place to second on the table after Kjeld Nuis struck gold and Thomas Krol took silver in the men's 1,500 metres speed skating.

Nuis said he took inspiration from Ireen Wust on Monday winning the women's equivalent race, landing a gold medal for the fifth successive Winter Olympics.

"She's a really special human being," said Nuis, "she's the best skater in the world. She's been winning World Championships and Olympic medals since she was young.

"She's not winning every race any more. When I saw her win yesterday, it inspired me so much. When you see her win like that, you think, 'I want to do the same'."

Russian Olympic Committee slid from second to seventh on the table, with China nudging up to third spot thanks to Eileen Gu's stunning triumph in the freeski big air.

Gu landed a left double cork 1620, a high-tariff piece of skill, to earn China's third gold of their home Games.

Born in the United States to an American father and Chinese mother, Gu has taken flak on social media for deciding to compete for China.

But she delivered a fiery riposte to her critics, saying: "I know that I have a good heart and I know my reasons for making the decisions I do are based on a greater common interest and something I feel is for the greater good.

"If other people don't really believe that that's where I'm coming from, then that just reflects that they do not have the empathy to empathise with a good heart, perhaps because they don't share the same kind of morals that I do.

"In that sense, I'm not going to waste my time trying to placate people who are, one, uneducated and, two, probably never going to experience the kind of joy and gratitude and love that I have the great fortune to experience on a daily basis.

"If people don't like me, that's their loss. They're never going to win the Olympics."

Germany, who got a gold from Natalie Geisenberger in the women's luge singles, sit alongside China in a share of third, both having two silvers to complement their three gold medals.

Ester Ledecka's latest glorious gold, in parallel giant slalom, gave the Czech Republic a first medal of the Games, meaning they sit in a tie with New Zealand for 15th place.

Medal table (after day five):

1. Sweden (G4 S1 B1, Total: 6)
2. Netherlands (G3 S3 B1, Total: 7)
3. China (G3 S2 B0, Total: 5)
3. Germany (G3 S2 B0, Total: 5)
5. Norway (G3 S1 B4, Total: 8)
6. Italy (G2 S4 B1, Total: 7)
7. Russian Olympic Committee (G2 S3 B5, Total: 10)
8. Austria (G2 S3 B2, Total: 7)
9. Slovenia (G2 S1 B2, Total: 5)
10. France (G1 S4 B0, Total: 5)

Raphael Veiga and Dudu recorded a goal and an assist each as Palmeiras eased past Al Ahly 2-0 in the FIFA Club World Cup semi-finals at Al Nahyan Stadium.

After losing to Tigres UANL in last year's semi-final before being beaten on penalties by Al Ahly in the third-place game, it will be a relief to Palmeiras to have reached the final.

Veiga opened the scoring six minutes before half-time, and turned provider for Dudu to double the Copa Libertadores' champions lead early in the second half. Chelsea or Al-Hilal await Palmeiras.

Al Ahly were missing some key players, though started Egypt international Amr Al Soleya despite the midfielder playing an hour of the Africa Cup of Nations final on Sunday.

He had two attempts during the first half but both came after Dudu had set Veiga away in the 39th minute, with the latter finishing well across Aly Lotfi.

Veiga returned the favour when he played in Dudu four minutes after the restart – the winger racing down the right before firing high into the net.

Another disappointed AFCON finalist, Hamdi Fathi, came on as part of a triple substitution following the second goal, and Al Ahly finally stepped up their intensity, having three times as many shots in the first 15 minutes of the second half (six) than they had in the entire first period.

Mohamed Sherif had the ball in the net in the 72nd minute when he followed up a shot that was spilled by Weverton, but it was disallowed for offside.

Salt was rubbed into Al Ahly wounds further with 10 minutes to go when VAR deemed Ayman Ashraf's reckless challenge on Rony worthy of a red card.

What does it mean? Palmeiras improve on last time out

It is a rare occurrence for the CONMEBOL representative to fail to make the Club World Cup final, so losing to Mexican side Tigres last year was a big blow for Palmeiras, as was only finishing fourth after defeat to Al Ahly.

Abel Ferreira's men always looked relatively comfortable here though, despite Al Ahly hitting the crossbar late on. Palmeiras are now the eighth different Brazilian side to reach the final of the Club World Cup, with Flamengo in 2019 the last team from the country to progress to the competition’s showcase.

Palmeiras on a roll

Palmeiras may have been expected to dominate their opponents with flair and skill, and in the first half they mostly did just that, but the second half was a solid example of keeping the opposition at arm's length to close out the win, ideal for knockout tournament football.

They are now unbeaten in their last 10 games across all competitions (W7 D3), since a 1-0 league defeat to Fortaleza back in November.

Another semi-final defeat for Al Ahly

Al Ahly are making their seventh appearance at the Club World Cup, but are yet to reach the final of the competition having now lost each of their previous four semi-final appearances (2006, 2012, 2021 and 2022).

What’s next?

Palmeiras will play the winner of Chelsea and Al-Hilal in Saturday's final, while Al Ahly will face the loser of that game in the third-place playoff earlier that same day.

Maria Sakkari, Jelena Ostapenko and Petra Kvitova all avoided upsets as the seeds continued to march on at the St Petersburg Ladies Trophy on Tuesday.

Top seed Sakkari beat Anastasia Potapova 6-4 6-4 to advance to the last 16, while seventh seed Ostapenko was a 6-1 6-4 winner against wildcard Wang Xinyu.

Kvitova, the 2018 champion, took just an hour and nine minutes to see off qualifier Jule Niemeier 6-2 6-1, with the sixth seed and two-time former Wimbledon winner making a positive first appearance since being eliminated from the Australian Open in round one.

Sakkari, Ostapenko and Kvitova followed fellow seeds Anett Kontaveit, Belinda Bencic and Elise Mertens - winners on Monday - in avoiding an early exit.

However, number four seed and home favourite Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova was forced to withdraw from the competition on Tuesday due to a knee problem.

Bernarda Pera replaced the Russian in the main draw and fell 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 to Jaqueline Cristian, who will next face Aliaksandra Sasnovich.

That is after Sasnovich held firm to beat Magda Linette 7-5 4-6 6-4 in a tight contest, with a decisive break in the fifth game of the third set seeing her through.

Tuesday brought more enthralling action from Beijing, with Olympic records broken and one athlete on the verge of repeating a historic feat.

Ester Ledecka became the first female athlete to claim gold in two separate sports at the same Winter Games back in 2018, and the Czech is out to repeat that achievement this time around.

She is now halfway there, having won the women's parallel giant slalom at Genting Snow Park.

Teenage sensation Eileen Gu was also among the winners on day four, while Canada's women beat the United States 4-2 in the ice hockey, in what many view as a possible dress rehearsal for the final, and Italy defeated Norway to take gold in the mixed doubles curling final.

Ledecka on the brink of double glory

Ledecka clinched gold ahead of Austria's Daniela Ulbing. However, she does not have much time to celebrate, as her focus will now switch from snowboarding to going for the top prize in alpine skiing in three days' time.

"Part of my head is still racing right now on that course," Ledecka said. "The other side of my head is already trying to get through the lines on the skiing course. And then a small part is celebrating the win."

Slovenia's Gloria Kotnik took bronze, finishing on the podium for the first time in a career that has spanned 137 world cup events, 14 world championships and three Olympic Games.

Austria's Benjamin Karl took gold in the men's event. The 36-year-old, who is a five-time world champion, took bronze in the parallel slalom in Sochi and silver in the parallel giant slalom in Pyeongchang, making him the first snowboarder to have a complete set of Olympic medals.

Gu lives up to the billing

Gu had already made several headlines before Beijing 2022 had even begun. The 18-year-old Californian delighted China when she decided to represent the country of her mother's birth instead of the United States.

Nicknamed the "Snow Princess", Gu won two gold medals at both the Winter X Games 2021 and the FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships, and on Tuesday came first in the big air freestyle final.

"That was the happiest moment, day, whatever – of my life," said Gu, who landed a perfect left double cork 1620 jump for the first time in competition.

"Even if I didn't land it, I felt it would send a message out to the world and hopefully encourage more girls to break their own boundaries," the teenager added. 

Olympic record smashed

The Olympic record in the men's 1500m speed skating was broken twice over, as Kjeld Nuis defended his title from 2018 in emphatic style.

Dutchman Nuis now has three golds to his name, having also won the 1000m race in Pyeongchang, and has become the fourth man to win the 1500m twice.

Nuis and his compatriot Thomas Krol, who took silver, both broke the Olympic record of 1:43.95, which had stood for 20 years, with Nuis recording a time of 1:43.21.

In the cross-country skiing, Norway's Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo dominated as he took home gold in the men's sprint free event. He won three gold medals in Pyeongchang and is a two-time defending world champion.

Sweden enjoyed success in the women's equivalent, with world champion Jonna Sundling and Maja Dahlqvist completing a one-two.

Three in a row for Geisenberger

Natalie Geisenberger is the first female luge athlete to win gold for the third straight Olympic Games, as she triumphed with a combined time of 3:53.454.

Geisenberger's time was just under half-a-second quicker than her fellow German Anna Berreiter, who claimed silver, with Tayana Ivanova taking bronze for the Russian Olympic Committee.

"It's hard to compare Olympic medals, because every one has its own history," said Geisenberger, who took a break away from the sport in 2020 to have a child.

"My first was very, very special because I was a first-time Olympic champion and now I'm a five-time Olympic champion, but it is the first time as a mother. It's just great.

"Training was done around my child. I think we did a really pretty good job as a family. To have another gold is just amazing and a very special moment."

Chelsea playmaker Hakim Ziyech has seemingly called time on his international career, saying he will not play for Morocco again.

Former Ajax star Ziyech has not played for his country since a friendly against Burkina Faso in July due to a reported falling out with head coach Vahid Halilhodzic.

Ziyech was not included in Morocco's squad for the Africa Cup of Nations.

Without him, Morocco progressed to the quarter-finals, but lost to eventual runners-up Egypt at that stage.

After Morocco's elimination from the tournament, Halilhodzic said that Ziyech would not be welcomed back into the fold "even if his name was Lionel Messi".

Ziyech, speaking to ADSports TV, has now had his say, and believes it is very clear he will not be featuring for Morocco again, at least while Halilhodzic remains in position.

"I understand them, but I will not return to the Moroccan national team and this is my final decision," Ziyech said.

"It's all clear for me how things are going over there and I am focusing on what I am doing and, right now, that is my club.

"At the end of the day, it's a decision he makes and you have to respect it. All the lying that comes with it, it's, for me, clear and I will not return to the national team.

"I understand and feel sorry for [the fans], but that's the situation we're in."

Halilhodzic has previously hit out at Ziyech's behaviour and attitude while on international duty, claims that the 28-year-old has refuted.

Bayern Munich chairman Herbert Hainer has questioned Niklas Sule's decision to leave the club at the end of his contract to join Borussia Dortmund.

Dortmund announced on Monday a pre-agreement is in place with the Germany defender, who will join the club from Bayern at the end of the season.

The 26-year-old has agreed to a four-year deal at Signal Iduna Park, having decided against extending his Bayern contract, which expires at the end of 2021-22.

However, Hainer has questioned Sule's decision to choose Bundesliga rivals rather than potentially more lucrative offers from the Premier League and LaLiga.

"He was already being discussed at Dortmund and there was speculation – in addition to Real Madrid, Manchester City and a few others – but I hadn't thought that it would be his first choice," Hainer told Bild.

"It will be exciting to see him on the other side. But it's not new to us either. We also gave Mats Hummels to Dortmund.

"I don't know what salary Niklas Sule gets at Borussia Dortmund. But I don't think it's a sporting climb.

"Niklas is a very good player who has become a regular in the national team in the last five years. I'm assuming that he'll really give it his all over the next three months so that he can still clinch the titles that we have ahead of us."

Sule joined Bayern from Hoffenheim in 2017 and has made 159 appearances for the club, winning four Bundesliga titles and two DFB-Pokal crowns, as well as the 2019-20 Champions League.

However, when it emerged he would not be signing a new contract, former Bayern star and chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge claimed the centre-back "never really asserted himself in his position" while at the club.

Sule's agent, Volker Struth, recently said his client "didn’t feel fully valued" by the German champions.

"I can only speak of myself and the people I am with every day," Hainer said in response to those comments.

"We all appreciated him and know what we had and still have in him. You have to ask him yourself what exactly he means by that."

Antonio Conte insists he was never worried about Harry Kane's form despite the Tottenham striker enduring something of a slump in the first half of the season.

Kane looked a shadow of his usual self earlier in the campaign, scoring just one Premier League goal under Nuno Espirito Santo.

His performance certainly did not improve dramatically after Conte's arrival, as the England captain's next Premier League goal only arrived on December 19.

But since Christmas, Kane has netted six times in nine games across all competitions, including a brace in Saturday's 3-1 FA Cup defeat of Brighton and Hove Albion.

During Nuno's brief reign, it was felt Spurs were not getting enough out of Kane in any sense – he averaged just 0.24 expected goals (xG) per 90 minutes in the Premier League, his worst record under any Spurs manager in a single season, while his touches of the ball dipped significantly to an average of 38.4 each game.

This showed he was not snuffing out many clear-cut opportunities and his general influence had waned, but under Conte he has seemingly recovered – he averages 0.56 xG each match, a record he has only bettered in 2017-18 (0.65) and 2013-14 (0.89, under Tim Sherwood), while he is touching the ball 46.3 times per game.

While he is still technically under-performing in relation to xG with 0.3 non-penalty goals per 90 minutes, he has improved as a goal threat. Not that Conte had any concerns, though.

"Honestly, I wasn't worried before in the past when he didn't score a lot, because his performance was always very, very high," Conte told reporters. "He played very well in every game for the team, he worked a lot for the team and is a fantastic player for me.

"He's not selfish but now that he's scoring I'm happy for him and the team, because if he scores we have more probability to get three points or go to the next round in a trophy competition.

"As I said to you before, in the past his performances were very, very, very positive for me, despite him not scoring a lot in the past. We're talking about a world-class striker. He's able to score in every game. We've also to try to help him to score."

Kane himself recently commented how he believes he is the fittest he has ever been.

Conte is renowned for being a demanding coach on the training ground, particularly when it comes to the physical aspects.

And it is focusing on this side of things, and building their setup around him, that Conte believes has improved Kane's overall sharpness

"Surely when you have a player like Harry, you have to try to involve him in your tactical idea of football," Conte continued. "He's an important player for us and he has to be a point of reference when we develop our football offensively.

"We're trying to work with him in many aspects. I think that every single player can improve until the end when he decides to stop his career.

"We're talking about a really good person who shows desire every day during training sessions. He's available with his teammates and is always ready to speak about football, to try to improve and also to see new tactical situations.

"I repeat, we're talking about a world-class striker and I'm trying to help him to become also better and better. Me, my staff on the physical aspect we are working – but not only with him, with all the team.

"To reduce our gap [in the Premier League], it's very important to improve every single player in many aspects. If this player is Kane, we're talking about a world-class striker, but it's the same for [Dane] Scarlett. We have to try to improve every single player, and in this way we can improve as a team and be more competitive than before."

Chelsea coach Zsolt Low is confident his side can cope without Thomas Tuchel on the sidelines for Wednesday's Club World Cup semi-final against Al Hilal.

Tuchel missed Saturday's FA Cup fourth-round win against Plymouth Argyle after testing positive for coronavirus and was also unable to fly out to Abu Dhabi.

The German will definitely miss the clash with Asian champions Al Hilal, but he could return for a potential final against either Palmeiras or Al Ahly on Saturday.

Low and Arno Michels will continue to fill in and the former insists Chelsea's preparations have not been hampered too much as Tuchel is providing regular input from London.

"We are constantly in contact with Thomas. We're using video calling all the time," Low said at a pre-match news conference on Tuesday.

"We change our ideas a lot of times in the day. We have good conversation to make it like he is here with us together.

"Petr Cech supports us well when Thomas is not here. We have a good medical staff, team management. We have a lot of support. And a lot of video calls with Thomas. 

"He'll support us as best he can and give us every day preparation in meetings. In the next days there's the possibility to talk to the team."

Despite the four-hour time difference between London and the United Arab Emirates, Low says Tuchel is available at any time of the day.

"It's not necessary for him to change time zone. We have meetings with an alarm call," he said. "If we need him at 6am, we need him at 6am. 

"We are training in the afternoon so Thomas is already awake then anyway. In the hotel it's a bit easier for him to chat to the team because of the connection. 

"Maybe here in the dressing room can be more difficult. We all the time have phone contact also during the game so he can analyse and try to translate to the team.

"Phone calls and messages aren't Thomas' strongest part but he needs to be prepared and ready and be with us on the phone. He's been absolutely perfect in the last few days."

Tuchel is continuing to isolate, but if he returns a negative test by Thursday he will be in place for this weekend's final – assuming Chelsea first overcome Al Hilal.

"He'll follow the government rules, get tested every day and we hope the next will be negative so he can travel as fast as possible and enjoy the group and the team," Low said. 

"We hope but we have texts, phone calls, video calls and give him the feeling he's with us. We need his absolute support. In 24 hours he could be here."

Al Hilal beat Al Jazira 6-1 to set up a showdown with Chelsea, who are looking to add the Club World Cup to their collection following last year's Champions League triumph.

The Blues were beaten 1-0 by Corinthians in the final in their only participation in the tournament a decade ago, but they are favourites to go all the win this time around.

"We have to take that role after winning the Champions League," Low said. "We know we're a good team and play a good game but Al Hilal are very good.

"Leonardo Jardim is a very good coach and they have a very good team. We take the role as favourites but for sure it will be a difficult game tomorrow."

The Champions League winners have made the final of the Club World Cup at 16 of the previous 17 editions, with Manchester United in 2000 the only exception.

Chelsea have lost just one of their past 15 games in all competitions, meanwhile, with their only loss in that period coming against Premier League champions Manchester City.

The English heavyweights will be without Reece James against Al Hilal, despite the defender being included in their squad, while Mason Mount will undergo a late fitness test.

Edouard Mendy is also set to link up with the squad ahead of the match, despite featuring for Senegal in Sunday's Africa Cup of Nations final win against Egypt.

Pep Guardiola is unconcerned about Jack Grealish, Kyle Walker and Riyad Mahrez being spotted on a night out in Manchester, joking he was "upset" they did not invite him.

The City trio were filmed outside a bar in Manchester on Sunday night, with claims on social media suggesting Grealish was turned away for being inebriated.

City believe this to be false, according to the Manchester Evening News, with the club apparently indicating the players left the bar in question after a misunderstanding with staff.

Last month, Grealish and Phil Foden were warned about their conduct and dropped after a night out, The Times said at the time.

But Guardiola seemingly has no issue with Grealish, Walker and Mahrez this time, adamant all were "perfect" and none of them were drunk.

Speaking ahead of Tuesday's Premier League meeting with Brentford, Guardiola told reporters: "I'm so upset because they didn't invite me, and I don't like it.

"Next time, I hope they can invite me and have dinner correctly at eight o'clock.

"The video didn't show what did or didn't happen. Dinner together, sober, enjoying with mates and some of the backroom staff. So, the players know, they risk when they go out because of social media.

"All of them, they were perfect [not drunk], but they will be fined because they didn't invite me," he said with a grin.

Then asked if they had been unfairly treated, Guardiola replied: "In this case, yes."

Attention soon turned to talk of Guardiola's future, with the City boss into the final 18 months of his contract.

He appeared completely at peace with the situation, convinced that him staying longer is simply down to the results he gets.

"I'm here six years because we won a lot," he said. "I came because many people convinced me.

"It [staying beyond next year] depends on the results, nothing more than that.

"I have one and a half years left on my contract, which is a long time when you look around at world football."

Former Real Madrid goalkeeper Javier Berasaluce has died at the age of 91, the Spanish club have announced.

Berasaluce spent five years at Madrid between 1955 and 1960, during which time he won five European Cups and two LaLiga titles, albeit while playing understudy to Juan Alonso.

The Spaniard, who was never capped by his country, also represented Deportivo Alaves and Racing Santander in the Spanish top flight.

Los Blancos confirmed Berasaluce's passing on their official website on Tuesday.

Alaves also sent their condolences to the family of Berasaluce, who along with his granddaughter took the honorary kick-off against Madrid last January to mark the club's centenary.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has confirmed "physical monster" Mohamed Salah is in contention to face Leicester City on Thursday after Egypt's Africa Cup of Nations heartbreak.

Salah played the full 120 minutes of Sunday's AFCON final loss to Senegal, with his side beaten 4-2 on penalties following a goalless draw after extra time.

The 29-year-old returned to training with Liverpool less than 48 hours later, however, and has declared himself ready to play a part against Leicester at Anfield.

"Mo is now back. I have spoken to him already," Klopp told the Reds' official website on Tuesday. 

"He is very disappointed of course, but looking forward to all the things coming up here now.

"I spoke to him and pretty much the first thing Mo told me was: 'I'm ready'. He is an experienced player; a physical monster, to be honest, so we have to see. 

"He will obviously have a little recovery session today and we will see how he feels tomorrow and from there we go.

"The proper plan we don't have, play him as often and as long as possible is probably the plan, but we will not rush it. 

"But if he is fine we will not leave him out for the wrong reasons as well, so let's see."

While Salah was left to rue what might have been for Egypt, club-mate Sadio Mane was celebrating a maiden international title after scoring the decisive spot-kick for Senegal.

Mane was still celebrating his country's triumph in Dakar on Monday and will not be considered for selection by Klopp against Leicester.

"Sadio has no chance as he's not even here, but Mo yes," Klopp said.

"Sadio flies out if it's possible on Wednesday night, so will arrive here on Thursday but he is, of course, then not involved in the Leicester game.

"It means the world to him, it means the world to his people, it means the world to Senegal. 

"We respect that a lot and we would never consider to have called back him from there or whatever – let them do what they do in the moment because they deserve it.

"They've had an incredibly intense time, so when he is back we will talk to him and we will see how we can use him."

Mane missed a penalty early on in the final and Klopp praised the forward for keeping his cool when it came to stepping up for the decisive spot-kick in the shoot-out.

"The pressure on Sadio with missing the penalty in the game and then the last one… wow! I cannot imagine how he would have felt," the German said. 

"But you could see the joy and relief after that so he was obviously in the best possible shape.

"We have text a little bit here and there but he is still in Africa, still in Senegal, celebrating and we will see – Wednesday night or something like that we will send him out. 

"But yes, it was obviously a big tournament and meant the world to him.

"I think both played a great tournament. The responsibility on their shoulders is absolutely [huge] and the pressure on their shoulders is absolutely insane.

"I don't even have an idea how it must feel in these moments, they carry pretty much a whole country.

"So, Mo couldn't make it but played a really good tournament and Sadio made it and yes, now I have to say really congratulations, outstanding."

While Liverpool must wait for Mane's return, potentially having Salah back involved against Leicester is a huge boost for the Reds.

Salah has scored 16 goals in 20 Premier League games this term – six more than anyone else – while assisting nine times, a tally only Trent Alexander-Arnold (10) can better.

Indeed, no player in Europe's top five league has scored and assisted more combined goals this season than Salah, who is level with Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski on 25.

Liverpool have lost their last two league games against Leicester, but they have won five in a row at Anfield in the top flight in what is their best-such run since December 2020.

Klopp also confirmed Joe Gomez and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are back in training after missing Sunday's FA Cup fourth-round win against Cardiff City.

Juventus captain Giorgio Chiellini is set to miss the first leg of the Bianconeri's Champions League last-16 tie with a Villarreal after sustaining a calf injury that will reportedly sideline him for a month.

Chiellini, 37, suffered the issue in Juve's 2-0 win over Hellas Verona on Sunday and a statement on Tuesday confirmed it was a calf strain.

The statement read: "Giorgio Chiellini underwent radiological scans at J Medical today, which revealed a low-grade lesion of the deep musculature of the left calf."

While Juve have not put a specific timeframe on his recovery, reports across the Italian media suggest he is likely to miss the rest of February.

As such, he is likely to miss five matches, starting with Thursday's Coppa Italia clash with Sassuolo.

Juve are also due to face Atalanta, Torino and Empoli in Serie A before the end of the month, while they go to Villarreal for the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on February 22.

However, Chiellini should be able to feature in the return leg on March 16, while Roberto Mancini can still expect to select his captain at the crucial end of their World Cup qualification campaign.

European champions Italy did not secure automatic World Cup qualification, meaning they must face North Macedonia in the play-off semi-finals – Portugal or Turkey await in the play-off finals.

If Italy do not reach Qatar 2022, it will be the first time in history the Azzurri have failed to qualify for successive World Cups.