Atletico Madrid Receive Mixed Injury News Ahead of Champions League Clash With Liverpool

​Atletico Madrid have been dealt a mixed hand with injury news ahead of the first leg of their Champions League tie against Liverpool.

Diego Simeone's side welcome the Premier League leaders to the Wada Metropolitano on Tuesday for their last 16 match, the first meeting between the two sides in nearly a decade.

Atletico are expected to be missing three key players through injury, but have received a boost with the return of their two strikers.

Joao Felix,Kieran Trippier

According to Spanish news outlet ​Cope, Atletico have a fully fit squad bar João Félix, Héctor Herrera and Kieran Trippier, who are all set to be sidelined for the clash.


João Félix was the only one of the three to train in preparation for Tuesday's game, however he was not involved in the first team's session.

The Portuguese forward has been out for the past three weeks with a muscle injury. Herrera meanwhile has a hip problem, and Keiran Trippier is absent after undergoing surgery on a groin injury at the beginning of February.

However, there is more positive news for ​Atletico as strikers Diego Costa and Alvaro Morata are both training normally and expected to be available. 

Costa had been out since November after undergoing an operation to correct a slipped disk. The former Chelsea striker has a mixed record against ​Liverpool, scoring against them twice during his time in the Premier League, but also missing a penalty during a 1-1 draw at Anfield in 2017.

Meanwhile fellow former Chelsea man Morata had been sidelined for a fortnight with a muscle injury sustained in the Madrid derby. 

Alvaro Morata,Diego Costa

The forward made his return to action off the bench during Atletico's 2-2 draw at Valencia on Friday.

The news of more attacking options will be a real boost for Atletico, who have scored just 25 goals in 24 La Liga games this season. 

However, Costa has only found the net twice thus far, while Morata has fared better than his teammate with 10 goals in all competitions.


Source : 90min