Atletico Madrid wil be without one of their key defenders for the heavy schedule that awaits them in January and February, after Clement Lenglet suffered a significant injury in their Copa del Rey clash against Atletico Baleares. The French defender has not been starting of late, but is an important depth piece for Los Colchoneros.
Squeezing past Baleares 3-2, despite the fourth-tier side seeing multiple chances and a penalty halted by goalkeeper Juan Musso, their progress to the Round of 16 did not come without cost. Lenglet exited the game in the first half, after stretching for a ball and getting his studs caught in the ground, leading to a twisted knee. He did walk off under his own weight.
💣🚨 BREAKING: Marcos Llorente is back in training with the team!@marca pic.twitter.com/5B7eTmqR17
— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) December 18, 2025
Lenglet ruled out for two months
According to Marca, Lenglet is set for a two-month lay-off as a result of his injury. The official diagnosis is a high sprain of his knee ligaments, following further tests. His return will be in mid-February, which will keep him out of a minimum of 10 games, which could increase depending on Atletico’s progress in the Champions League, Spanish Supercup and Copa del Rey. At the very least, he will miss the derby clash with Real Madrid in Saudi Arabia in the Supercup, and the remainder of the Champions League league phase. He could also miss the first leg of a play-off tie between the two.
Diego Simeone’s alternatives
Lately, Atletico have been starting Jose Maria Gimenez, David Hancko or Marc Pubill in central defence, who are all performing well. In addition, Robin Le Normand is getting back to full fitness after his own injury issues. Simeone will be all too aware that he must continue to rotate Gimenez though in order to have him fresh and fit for the decisive phase of the season, while Pubill and Hancko have and could be utilised at full-back too.
