Atlético de Madrid announced its squad to face Eintracht Frankfurt in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night, and Alexander Sørloth has missed out due to a knock he sustained during El Derbi Madrileño
on Saturday.
Sørloth, who scored Atlético’s second goal in a thumping 5-2 win over the city rivals, played 66 minutes on Saturday and trained alongside his teammates at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano on Monday. But he has been deemed unfit to play against the explosive Eintracht Frankfurt — a side averaging nearly four goals per game this season.
Sørloth joins Thiago Almada, Johnny Cardoso, and Josema Giménez on the sidelines for this game, as Atlético’s quest to have a fully-healthy squad for the first time this season remains ongoing. Fortunately, Sørloth’s injury does not seem serious, and in theory he could return to the team for Sunday’s visit to Celta Vigo. Almada and Giménez have returned to training, but it seems like they may be held out until after the upcoming FIFA break along with Johnny.
(As an aside, Celta are in action in the Europa League on Thursday, when Greek side PAOK visits Balaídos.)
Diego Simeone had been planning to start Sørloth on Tuesday night, per Marca. The Norwegian was all set to partner Julián Álvarez in attack, but his former Villarreal teammate Álex Baena may now take his place instead. Baena played only a few minutes at the end of the Real Madrid game, but he looked sharp as he pounced on Fede Valverde’s poor pass to supply an assist for Antoine Griezmann in second-half stoppage time.
Elsewhere in the team, Conor Gallagher is in line for a start as captain Koke needs a rest following a brilliant —but tiring — display in El Derbi, while Dávid Hancko is slated for another start at left-back as Atlético try to fashion something of a sturdy, reliable defense six weeks into the season.
