Atletico Madrid to travel on preseason tour without two key players

Atletico Madrid are set to head on a two-week preseason tour, but will do so without at least one, if not two, of their stars.

Uruguayan central defender Jose Maria Gimenez pulled up with a shin problem on Monday during their final training session before flying to South Korea. It was discovered that Gimenez has a ‘fissure’ in his bone, and Atletico confirmed he would remain behind and receive physiotherapy in Madrid.

The other doubt, with just hours to go ahead of the flight, is starting right-back Nahuel Molina. The Argentine international suffered a calf problem last Friday, and hasn’t trained since. Marca claim he will not travel either. They will miss friendlies against a K-League XI, Manchester City, Real Sociedad and Real Betis.

Overall, these injuries, often persistent in recent years, are a strong validation of their decision to bring depth into the defence this summer, signing Caglar Soyuncu, Santiago Mourino, Javi Galan and Cesar Azpilicueta. This should allow Atletico Madrid to operate without too much impact this season, even when injuries it.