Atlético Madrid attacking midfielder Álex Baena on Monday took part in individual training exercises, less than a week after he underwent a laparoscopic procedure to treat acute appendicitis.
According to Mundo Deportivo’s Walter Zimmermann, Atlético hopes Baena will be ready to return for the season’s first Madrid Derby on Sept. 27 — which, of course, will see Atleti take the pitch only 64 hours after hosting Rayo Vallecano, the calendar affording Real Madrid an additional 24 hours’ rest after Los
Blancos visit Levante.
Baena has played only one official match in Atlético’s colors since his €42 million transfer from Villarreal back in July. The 24-year-old had been in the final stages of recovery from a low-grade muscle injury before he underwent an emergency operation in Madrid last Wednesday.
“Thank you for all the messages, I am now home resting and recovering,” Baena wrote in a social media post. “It’s now how it starts, but how it ends.”
Indeed, Atlético could not have started this season much worse. Los Rojiblancos sit 17th in LaLiga with two points from the opening three games, and they welcome unbeaten Villarreal to the Riyadh Air Metropolitano on Saturday to kick off a brutal stretch of six games in 17 days. This includes a trip to Anfield to take on English champions Liverpool next Wednesday, as well as two city derbies (both at home).
El Desmarque’s Irene Gomez last week spoke to Dr. Felipe Pareja Ciuró, a trauma and emergency surgeon, who said that Baena could be ready to return by the end of the month. Given the minimally-invasive nature of the player’s procedure, Pareja Ciuró explained that Baena could rejoin full team training next week with a view toward having him play in El Derbi Madrileño.
Baena was the star signing from another busy summer at Atlético, in which the club brought in eight new players and achieved a net spend of -€108 million. In his sole appearance to date, Baena created four chances in 67 minutes of the season-opening 2-1 loss at Espanyol; in the two 1-1 draws since, Atleti obviously has missed (and will continue to miss) the Spain international’s vision, passing range, and ball recovering next to Julián Alvarez in attack.
