Juanfran thigh injury leaves Atletico anxious

Joe Wright

Juanfran thigh injury leaves Atletico anxious image

Atletico Madrid have confirmed that full-back Juanfran has suffered a grade II muscle injury to his left thigh.

Destiny final looms for Simeone

The 32-year-old was forced off in the 55th minute of Tuesday's 1-1 Champions League quarter-final second-leg draw with Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.

Juanfran was sent for scans that have revealed damage to his quadriceps, with Atletico confirming the news via their official website.

"Our player will undergo physiotherapy and rehabilitation treatment," the club added.

The news is a big blow to coach Diego Simeone, who saw left-back Filipe Luis suffer a hand injury that forced Atletico to field four centre-backs in the closing stages of the match.

The loss of Sime Vrsaljko to a knee ligament tear in March means Atletico could be facing a full-back crisis for the semi-finals.

Atletico face La Liga matches against Espanyol, Villarreal and Las Palmas before the first leg of the Champions League last four early next month.

Joe Wright

Joe Wright Photo

Joe is a Senior Editor at Sporting News. He was previously a sub editor and writer for Goal.com before spending six years as part of the Stats Perform editorial news service, covering major global sports including football, tennis, boxing, NBA, rugby union and athletics. Joe has reported live on some of the biggest games in football, including two UEFA Champions League finals, Euro 2016, the Confederations Cup 2017 and the 2018 World Cup final at the end of a month in Russia.