Koke and Cristian Romero have been left out of the Atlético de Madrid squad to face VfB Stuttgart in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night.
Ahead of Atlético’s first-ever meeting with Stuttgart, Diego Simeone’s defense was dealt a significant blow after the coach revealed that Romero asked to be subbed off during Atleti’s 1-0 win at Espanyol on Saturday. The star defender underwent tests which revealed a small adductor strain, an injury that will rule him out of the trip to Germany as well as next
weekend’s home match against Deportivo A Coruña.
Koke had a tough week as his mother died last Tuesday and he is still recovering from a left hamstring strain that caused him to miss the Espanyol game. The captain’s timetable to return remains uncertain.
In better news, Johnny Cardoso trained in the gym on Sunday, and he has been included in the squad after he missed the Espanyol match due to gastroenteritis.
Atlético enter the Stuttgart game on a six-game winning streak, though the Colchoneros historically have a horrible record when facing German clubs in Germany. Under Simeone, Atlético have lost eight of 10 games in Germany; the most recent win was against Bayer Leverkusen in 2017.
(Similarly, Stuttgart have never beaten a Spanish team in European competition, with a record of three draws and five losses to date.)
Stuttgart have struggled domestically with only six points from the opening six rounds of the Bundesliga, but Die Roten have taken six of six points in the Champions League. Sebastian Hoeneß’ men defeated Viking FK at home and Slovan Bratislava away to kick off the league phase.
