Douglas Luiz faces anxious wait as Aston Villa return in balance

Douglas Luiz faces a race against time to prove his fitness before Juventus' big Serie A match with AC Milan this weekend and their Champions League clash against Aston Villa a few days later.

The Brazilian hasn't featured in any of Juventus' last six games in all competitions due to muscle fatigue. He dropped out of the squad to take on Stuttgart in the Champions League before being absent from the matchday squad in the following three league matches against Inter, Parma and Udinese.

Luiz then returned to the squad for Juventus' fourth Champions League match against Lille, but he didn't make an appearance before once again dropping out of the squad for the next league game against Torino ahead of the November international break.

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Italian outlet Calciomercato report that it is unclear whether Luiz will be declared fit enough to feature against AC Milan on Saturday night. With the match against Villa just four days later, Luiz will be hopeful of returning to action at the next opportunity to give himself the best chance of working his way into Thiago Motta's thoughts before returning to Villa Park.

Luiz left Villa in a deal worth £42m before the end of June as the club had to balance their books to comply with the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules.

But he has struggled to find form under Motta and has only started two league matches in his first three months at the Old Lady. He has made another seven appearances from off the bench in the club's first 16 games of the campaign in all competitions.