Only 34 minutes played for Juventus since 2024: the incredible injury woes of a former Bundesliga star

Arkadiusz Milik was once among Europe's most prolific strikers. Injuries have kept him from showing his eye for goal at Juventus for more than two years.

In early September, Juventus announced their squad for the upcoming Serie A season. Coach Luciano Spalletti left the 32-year-old out. Milik also missed out on a place in the Europa League squad, behind the at times disappointing new arrivals Nick Woltemade and Randal Kolo Muani. For now, he can play only in the Coppa Italia.

Injury has prevented that, too. Again. Since arriving in Turin in the summer of 2022, Milik has made just 77 appearances for the Italian record champions. Since the summer of 2024, he has played only twice, for a total of 34 minutes. He has spent the rest of the time on the treatment table and probably knows the rehabilitation coaches better than much of the current squad.

Around 100 matches have passed without Milik. His injuries have included serious problems with his knee, calf and shin. Now a muscle problem is denying him a fresh start, if his omission from the squads leaves room for one. Juve have not disclosed a precise diagnosis or said how long he will be out, but Italian media believe it is an overuse problem. The Pole is simply no longer accustomed to the demands of training.

During summer preparations, Milik scored his first goal in 813 days in a friendly against Palermo in Perth, Australia. It offered the injury-hit striker a glimmer of hope. Instead, he is sidelined again, and the satisfaction he felt Down Under has surely given way to disappointment.

His contract expires after the season, leaving Milik little time to make a case for himself to a new club. For the first time in his career, he faces being without one. He is unlikely to find a taker in the winter. Even the early extension of his contract by another year in April 2025 came as a surprise. There was, however, a reason for it. As Gazzetta dello Sport reported at the time, Milik's reported salary of €3.5 million was simply spread over the next two seasons, keeping him at the club for longer at a lower cost.

For Juve, the decision showed considerable faith in a player they held in high regard. Milik had already been out injured for months. The hope was that he might yet recapture the form he showed at the start of his time in northern Italy.

Milik joined Juve on loan from Olympique Marseille in 2022 and impressed with nine goals and one assist in a substitute's role. The club signed him permanently the following year for a fee of around €7 million. He added another eight goals in just over 1,000 minutes of playing time before injury struck.

Milik's best season came more than ten years ago. An underwhelming spell at Bayer Leverkusen brought eight games and no goals, as well as a stint in the reserves and a loan move to FC Augsburg. At Ajax Amsterdam, he quickly showed why Leverkusen had signed him from Gornik Zabrze in his native Poland for €2.6 million in early 2013. Gornik are now known as Lukas Podolski's beloved club.

On loan in 2014/15, Milik scored 23 goals and supplied nine assists in 34 appearances. He kept scoring after making the move permanent, hitting 21 goals and setting up eight more in the Eredivisie alone. SSC Napoli wasted no time, paying €32 million and handing Ajax a transfer profit of almost €30 million.

Milik initially picked up in Italy where he had left off in the Netherlands. He scored two-goal hauls in the first four Serie A matchdays, but then tore his cruciate ligament. A serious knee injury followed in his second season in Naples. The 73-cap Poland international fought his way back and remained a goal threat, but made a momentous wrong decision in the summer of 2020.

Desperate to join Juventus, Milik reportedly wanted a move at all costs. AS Roma were also said to have been among the leading contenders. But president Aurelio De Laurentiis's demands were too high, and Milik's desired move fell through. He turned down an extension to his contract, which was due to expire a year later, and then-coach Gennaro Gattuso left him out of his squad. In the prime of his career, Milik became perhaps the world's most valuable regular in the stands.

"They gave me a choice: either I sign or I leave," Milik told Polish media a few months later. "I decided I wanted to try something new, a different place. (…) A professional career is short; I'm 26 years old. I want to keep growing, to be a better footballer. I think the time is right to take on a new challenge. I'm a person who follows his feelings."

Ultimately, Milik extended his contract in January 2021 and went to Marseille on loan, bringing Napoli almost €10 million the following summer. In the port city in southern France, he refused to let the odd injury set him back. After 30 goals in 55 appearances, his dream of playing for Juve finally came true. He has played far less than he hoped.