Kelly joined Juventus on an initial loan basis in January and has struggled to make much of an impact with the Serie A side.
He suffered a hamstring injury during Sunday’s 2-0 win over Monza, which was his 12th appearance for the Turin-based club, and is set to be sidelined for the majority of the remainder of the season.
However, the injury will not affect the clause that was inserted into the loan deal that took Kelly to Italy, and that sees Juventus committed to completing a permanent £20m transfer this summer provided they qualify for either the Champions League, Europa League or Conference League.
European qualification of some description looks all but certain given that Juventus’ weekend win left them in fourth position in the Serie A table.
With Juventus strapped for cash, questions have been asked within the Italian media about the wisdom of shelling out £20m for Kelly, who barely featured for Newcastle prior to leaving in January, just six months after he had moved to St James’ Park from Bournemouth.
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However, Newcastle will not be revisiting the clause that was agreed in January, with Kelly’s permanent departure set to significantly boost the club’s financial position in relation to the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules.
Kelly’s injury setback was confirmed in a statement issued by Juventus earlier today, that said: “Lloyd Kelly, having reported a muscle problem in his right thigh at the end of last night’s game against Monza, underwent diagnostic tests this morning, which revealed a low-grade hamstring injury.
“New examinations will be repeated in about ten days’ time in order to define the exact recovery time.”
