Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone isn’t going to “force” striker Antoine Griezmann back to action ahead of next month’s Champions league clash with Inter Milan.
Speaking in a press conference, as reported by FCInterNews, the Colchoneros boss also updated on the fitness of defender Jose Maria Gimenez.
Beyond the result of Tuesday’s round of sixteen first leg against Inter, Atletico also suffered a couple of injury blows.
The most significant concerned French international striker Griezmann.
The 32-year-old is undoubtedly one of Atletico’s key players, both in terms of his goals and linkup play.
Griezmann had started the match against Inter last Tuesday. That certainly did not come as any surprise.
But the Frenchman was not quite able to see out the full ninety minutes.
Late in the second half, Griezmann had to come off the pitch as a substitute. Angel Correa was the player to replace him.
Diego Simeone: Won’t Take Any Risks With Antoine Griezmann Ahead Of Second Leg Vs Inter
The problem for Griezmann was the player’s ankle.
That was the area that the striker immediately indicated was causing him trouble after taking his place on the bench.
Now, the question will be whether it’s a serious enough injury to keep Griezmann out of action for a number of weeks, or just a minor sprain.
This will be important for Atletico’s La Liga campaign. And also ahead of the second leg of their Champions League tie against Inter.
There is now just under three weeks to get Griezmann back to his fitness.
And for his part, Atletico coach Simeone has no intention of rushing the striker back to the pitch, either before or during the match against Inter.
Simeone said that “We absolutely will not force Griezmann’s return.”
“He will return when he’s ready to,” the Atletico coach added. “We aren’t going to force any player’s return.”
And Simeone also gave an update on defender Gimenez, another player who came off with an injury during Tuesday’s match against Inter.
“He’s a very important player for us,” the coach said of the Uruguayan defender.
“He’s working to recover from his injuries. We need him back, and we hope that he can return as soon as possible.”
