Juric: ‘Lookman welcome for Atalanta, he was given bad advice’ over controversial summer

Ivan Juric gives two new injury updates for Atalanta, while welcoming Ademola Lookman back against Torino. ‘He was given some bad advice.’

It was a mixture of good and bad news for La Dea at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino this evening.

On the one hand, they emerged with a 3-0 victory thanks to the first brace from Nikola Krstovic, while Kamaldeen Sulemana also opened his account for the club.

However, they were already dealing with an injury crisis even before losing both Nicola Zalewski and Isak Hien to yet more muscular problems in the opening half-hour.

Initial reports suggest Zalewski hurt the flexor in his right thigh, while Hien has problems in the left adductor.

Juric has good and bad news for Atalanta

“There are a lot of injuries, but we also have a large squad and must keep going like this,” said Juric in his press conference.

The fatigue was somewhat inevitable after a midweek 4-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

“That game actually gave us strength, because we were up against the best team in Europe. We rather took our foot off the gas and controlled the match today.”

Another development today saw the return to the field of Lookman, who had not played since last season, having tried and failed to force through an exit to Inter.

“He spoke to me and the team on Monday, he was surrounded by people who had given him some bad advice. He has a great winning mentality and now we need to get him back in shape physically,” continued Juric.

It was a return to the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino for the coach, who had an intense experience with this club, but the fans were already staging a protest against President Urbano Cairo even before this dismal performance.

“The situation has deteriorated a lot since I was here. It’s sad to see such discontent in the stands, it was not good for everyone around Toro.

“They seemed in good shape when beating Roma last week. I think we deserve credit for the way we approached the game, though.”