Atletico Madrid were all smiles on Monday night after they thumped Rayo Vallecano at Vallecas, putting seven goals past Stole Dimitrievski. The only sour note was an injury to Memphis Depay, who was replaced by Alvaro Morata after half an hour.
Manager Diego Simeone seemed unconcerned after the match, saying that he would recover after the international break, and Marca have indeed confirmed that he will miss their clash with Sevilla this Sunday.
💣🚨| JUST IN: Memphis Depay will not be available for the game against Sevilla on Sunday due to a hamstring injury.
[@marca] pic.twitter.com/mJdY5nJKCv
— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) August 30, 2023
A hamstring problem will keep him out of action and training on his own for multiple weeks, although the extent of his injury is not fully clear.
Diario AS frame this as part of a worrying trend, after an injury-hit season last time out. Already seven Atletico players have missed games through injury with Jose Maria Gimenez, Nahuel Molina, Koke Resurreccion, Angel Correa, Thomas Lemar, Joao Felix and now Memphis to miss game time. Reinildo Mandava is also out long-term. They also point out that each match has brought a new fitness issue for Atletico.
For Memphis in particular, it forms part of a worrying trend. While Thomas Lemar has never managed more than 8 consecutive games without injury for Atletico Madrid in the last five years, during Memphis’ six months at the club, he has yet to go three matches without an issue.
Atletico are quickly becoming dark horses for the La Liga title this season, but that could well be derailed by injuries. Even if they were poor throughout the first section of the season last year, it was greatly exacerbated by injuries, and cost them their place in the Champions League too.
Image via EFE/Rodrigo Jimenez
