Atletico Madrid were already facing an uphill task on Thursday night as they look to overturn a 1-0 deficit in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final away to Athletic Club. But it looks as if Diego Simeone will be asked to mastermind that comeback without his best player in Antoine Griezmann.
The French star twisted his ankle against Inter last Tuesday, and was due to be out for at least two weeks, but was hoping to make it back for the clash at San Mames. However that has been described as ‘almost impossible’, as he has not trained since. Midfielder Marcos Llorente also missed training to do work in the gym, but it is hoped he will be available come Thursday.
🚨 Antoine Griezmann is finding it very difficult to recover before the game against Athletic Club.
He's aware that he can't push himself because there are many challenges ahead: the Euros and the Olympics are on the horizon.
There's quite a bit of pessimism within the team… pic.twitter.com/lxYsToYMiZ
— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) February 26, 2024
Simeone will definitely be without Jose Maria Gimenez, Thomas Lemar and Cesar Azpilicueta. Diario AS say that Angel Correa is likely to replace Griezmann alongside Alvaro Morata, while Pablo Barrios could come into the midfield.
Athletic Club have their own struggles too though. Yuri Berchiche limped off in the first half against Real Betis with an apparent muscle problem over the weekend, and he is considered all but out of the Atletico clash too, with Ander Herrera a major doubt. Inigo Lekue would be Yuri’s replacement on the left, but he too worked alone on Monday away from the group as he recovers from a muscle problem. Yeray Alvarez is also likely to be missing from the backline due to a sprain too.
That would mean Imanol Garcia de Albeniz would be the only natural left-back replacement, while Ernesto Valverde is not flush for options across the rest of the backline. The 23-year-old has played just 6 times for Athletic’s first team, and has just 394 minutes under his belt so far this season.
