Marca: Atlético expect to be fully healthy after the international break

Injuries have disrupted Atleti’s momentum so far.

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Atlético Madrid should have its full complement of players by the time Saturday night’s showdown with Osasuna rolls around — or, at the latest, by next Tuesday, when Atlético travel to London to take on Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League.

One of the reasons why Atlético have more draws (4) than wins (3) in LaLiga thus far can be traced to persistent, nagging fitness issues that have dogged several of the new signings. Neither Thiago Almada (calf) nor Johnny Cardoso (ankle) has played since August;

Álex Baena (first thigh, then appendicitis) only returned to action on Sept. 27, receiving short cameos against Real Madrid and Eintracht Frankfurt before Diego Simeone threw him on with 15 minutes to go in the 1-1 draw at Celta Vigo.

In addition, Josema Giménez has not played in an official game since June 19, when he suffered a calf injury during the 3-1 win over Seattle Sounders at the FIFA Club World Cup. His absence has led to chaos at the back; Atlético have kept one clean sheet from the season’s first 10 games, while the Clément Lenglet – Robin Le Normand has not inspired much confidence from fans.

But during Friday’s friendly in Libya against Inter Milan, we saw Giménez complete the first half without a scratch. Almada dazzled over his 45 minutes, displaying the clever movement and on-ball ingenuity that generated so much excitement in LaLiga’s opening rounds. On Saturday, Baena played 25 minutes for Spain in La Roja’s 2-0 World Cup qualifying win over Georgia; the European champions are next in action on Tuesday night against Bulgaria, against whom Baena is expected to receive more minutes.

The only doubt centers on the integrity of Johnny’s ankle, which has precluded him from joining up with the United States national team and may yet rule him out of the Osasuna game at the Metropolitano. But Koke has been in superb form while the American international has been sidelined, marshaling the side expertly in last month’s home wins over Villarreal and Real Madrid, for example.

The point is, it won’t be much longer until Simeone has his full squad available at last — and in the nick of time, too. Atleti this weekend begin a stretch of six games in 20 days until the November FIFA break: