Juventus sporting director Fabio Paratici insists that Paulo Dybala's continued absence from the Italians' first team owes to a lack of fitness.
Dybala has been restricted to just a single Supercoppa appearance so far in 2020-21, and was sent home early from Argentina's World Cup qualifying matches without participating in either game due to a stomach problem.
Upon returning to Juve the forward found himself on the bench for their Serie A clash against Crotone, where he failed to enter the action despite his side being held 1-1.
Reports in Italy subsequently claimed that Dybala confronted Paratici after the match, incensed that coach Andrea Pirlo had declined to bring him on as a substitute.
The Argentine apparently demanded answers to why he is being left out in the cold, although Pirlo affirmed after the match that he was not ready to play against Crotone.
"I talked to him [Dybala] yesterday as I do to everyone else. He was a bit angry for not having played in Crotone but we have to remember that he hasn't played for three months," Pirlo told reporters. "He spent 10 days in his room in Argentina taking medicines because he couldn't train.
"I took him to Crotone to let him do a few minutes but unfortunately there were 10 of us left and I couldn't add him. He is available and we will see what to do.
"This was not the ideal game for him to pick up minutes."
Dybala was once more left on the bench as Juve kick off their Champions League campaign away to Dynamo Kyiv on Tuesday, a decision that Paratici argues is purely down to his physical condition.
"Dybala is feeling better," the director explained to reporters ahead of the Group G opener. "He had an injury that kept him out for some weeks, then on International break spent 10 days in bed with antibiotics because he got an intestinal virus. So, he hasn't been able to train really at all."
The Argentina international has been part of the Juventus set-up since moving from Palermo at the start of the 2015-16 season. He has played a total of 228 matches for the Old Lady, scoring on 95 occasions.
