Atletico Madrid suffer first injury of the season as pair of midfielders under observation

Originally posted on Football Espana | By Ruairidh Barlow | Last updated 7/13/23

Atletico Madrid have suffered their first injuries of the season less than a week into their preseason programme.

Youngster Pablo Barrios has sustained a muscle strain and will be out for a minimum of a week, after he left training last week, according to Diario AS.

Meanwhile Marcos Llorente was also examined on Wednesday, and no injury was found, but he will not resume full training. He will be training on his own for the next week in order to fully recover as Atletico look to keep a close eye on his fitness.

| Pablo Barrios will not be part of team training for at least a week, following his injury. @marca

— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) July 12, 2023

Llorente missed 19 games last season through fitness problems, and deprived Diego Simeone of one of his key assets in midfield. The 28-year-old should be approaching his peak, but has struggled for continuity since their title-winning season, now three years in the rearview mirror. While Simeone does have options in midfield with Thomas Lemar, Koke Resurreccion and Rodrigo de Paul all competiing for minutes too, none give Simeone a similar profile to that of Llorente.

This article first appeared on Football Espana and was syndicated with permission.

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