Juventus have scored 15 goals in 11 Serie A games, fewer than 12 other teams in the league, and the player built to fix that won't be back for at least another month. Kenan Yildiz has started reconditioning after breaking a bone in his left foot, and Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Juventus are targeting mid-December for his return.

One game, then three months out

Yildiz barely got started. Juventus' new No. 10 was hurt on opening day against Parma, fracturing the base of the fifth metatarsal in his left foot. He had surgery in Augsburg on Aug. 31 and spent almost two months on the first part of his treatment in Regensburg, his hometown, before returning to Turin.

According to Gazzetta, the club have never considered rushing him, given how delicate the injury is and how important he is to the team. The two dates in play are Dec. 14 against Monza and Dec. 19 against Roma. Coach Luciano Spalletti sees him as Juventus' main reinforcement for the second half of the season.

The numbers without him

The table explains why Spalletti is counting the days. Juventus are seventh with 18 points from five wins, three draws and three losses, 11 points behind leaders Lazio and six behind fourth-placed AC Milan. Roma (31), Inter (28), Lazio (25), Frosinone (24) and Milan (23) have all scored at least eight more goals than Juve, and even Monza, 18th, have scored 17.

Defense isn't the issue. Juventus have conceded just 12, one of the better records in the league. The problem is at the other end, where Spalletti has tried several options on the left, including Jérémie Boga, who was signed last January as Yildiz's backup. Boga did score in the 2-0 win over Napoli on Nov. 1, but Juve followed it with a 2-2 draw at Fiorentina.

A pace Juve rarely see

beIN SPORTS noted that Juventus are averaging 1.63 points per game. In the three-points-for-a-win era, they've only finished a top-flight season with a lower average three times: 1998-99, 2009-10 and 2010-11. Spalletti insists the criticism only motivates his players. "I know what I want," he said after the Fiorentina game. "If I'm still here, it's because I want to do well."

If the mid-December target holds, Juventus will play several more league games without Yildiz before Monza or Roma. Every point they drop in that stretch makes the gap to the top four harder to close by the time their No. 10 is fit to help.