The problem is starting to repeat itself. The great enemy of Atlético de Madrid in recent years is clear: the damn injuries. If Atleti and their injuries were a book, it would certainly be titled after Michael Ende’s work: ‘The never-ending story’. In the case of the mattress set, it is no longer an anecdote, but a dangerous trend of recent years. The pinnacle was reached in 2022, when Diego Pablo Simeone had to endure a veritable epidemic of injuries that had the infirmary at its peak: no more and no less than 20 injuries in just two months of competition. Now, after the game against Elche, where the mattress team gave a sad performance, the last to be injured thomas lemar that he will have another muscle injury and that he may not play for the rest of the season. With Lemar it rains on wet. Since signing for Atleti, he has suffered 19 muscle injuries, three knee injuries and one ankle injury. He has lost up to 46 games wearing the Atleti shirt and you could say a one-eyed man has been watching him. However, there are more relevant cases that give cause for concern.
Giménez and Savic, a rosary of absences between multiple injuries and several penalties
The cases of Josema Giménez and Stefan Savic are the most important. Apart from penalties for disqualification or yellow cycles, both have been off the field many times. Since his arrival at Atleti, Giménez has already missed 97 games with the rojiblanca (8 at 22-23), while Savic has missed a total of 65 games with the mattress team (13 this season). The two are vital pieces for Cholo and the two have not been able to perform satisfactorily due to their multiple injuries, which are of concern to the coaching staff and the club. Healthy and in great shape, both are beyond dispute. The problem is that between injuries and penalties too many games are lost.
The cases of Llorente, Joao, Memphis and Reguilón
Other names of concern include Marcos Llorente, who has missed 17 games since joining Atleti and is already 7 out this season; or Memphis Depay, who has already had injury problems at Barcelona and is going through an injury trial as he has missed up to four games since signing for Atleti in January due to a limp and various discomforts. To these names we must add Reguilón, who joined Tottenham Hotspur on loan while recovering from groin pain which, along with various thigh problems, prevented him from playing regularly and has missed up to 17 games this season. Another case is that of Joao Félix, now on loan at Chelsea, who was injured up to 12 times in just three and a half years, an average of once every 11 games. Without a doubt its great ballast. These names include Reinildo, who suffered an unfortunate long-term injury with a torn cruciate ligament. The club is still waiting for his rehabilitation process and is confident that he can recover his high level.
Vitolo, a history of injuries to shake
Although without a doubt the Atlético de Madrid player who seems to be “cursed” by injuries is none other than Vitolo, who has a contract with the club until 2024 and who has once again been eliminated from his team, Las Palmas, where he will play for about off the field for eight months after undergoing surgery for a right knee injury. Since signing for Atleti, he suffered multiple injuries and missed up to 26 games with the Mattress team, resulting in more accidents both at Getafe and now at Las Palmas.
In some cases, there are players who are closer to the ‘Walk of Injuries’ than to the ‘Walk of Legends’
At Atlético de Madrid they do not hide their concern about the injury plague that the team has recently suffered. Trainers, rehabilitators and the medical staff are confident that they can fly and stabilize the situation, but that Atleti has a serious problem with injuries cannot be hidden. Bad luck? Physical exercise? Bad adjustment? It’s not about pinpointing the guilty, but the club has to work in that direction, because the matter is worrying. It’s not an anecdote, but it’s becoming a trend. As noted in the famous athletic Twitter account ‘Atlético Stats’ at the time, there are instances of players appearing closer to the ‘Walk of injuries’ than on the ‘Walk of legends’. If there’s a pending problem that needs to be solved before this summer, it’s to solve these specific ‘X-Files’. The Atleti thing with the infirmary is the never-ending story.
Source: Goal