Julian Alvarez has travelled for Atletico Madrid’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Arsenal, but he was seen testing his ankle on Monday night.
Julian Alvarez was forced off with an ankle injury in the second half of Atletico Madrid’s Champions League semi-final first leg match against Arsenal last Wednesday, subsequently missing their match in La Liga at the weekend.
Alvarez then travelled with the Atletico squad to London on Monday, joining the team for training at the Emirates Stadium. But his spot in the starting lineup remains in doubt, particularly as he was seen testing his ankle ahead of training.
Journalists in attendance at the Emirates spotted Alvarez working alone with Atletico physiotherapist Oscar Pitillas, doing various exercises to test his ankle before taking part in training with the rest of the squad.
From an Atletico point of view, an optimistic take on the situation would be that the tests proved Alvarez was fit enought to take part in the session.
On the other hand, the fact he still requires special treatment just 24 hours before the game must make him a doubt to play through the match to the final whistle. Given the 26-year-old’s importance to Atletico as their top scorer, that could be significant.
Nicolas Gonzalez and Pablo Barrios will certainly be absent, as they weren’t named in the travelling squad. They won’t be making their injury comebacks against Arsenal on Tuesday night.
But Jose Maria Gimenez has travelled, despite missing the first leg of the semi-final and Atletico’s match against Valencia at the weekend. That suggests he’s on the verge of an injury comeback, but it may be too much to immediately throw him into the starting lineup after eight games out.
- Lisa Baum shines on Arsenal debut after record moveLisa Baum marked her Arsenal debut with the winner at Brighton, scoring after nine minutes and impressing across a lively 63-minute WSL display.
- Odegaard and Konsa react to ‘brilliant’ win over ChelseaMartin Odegaard and Ezri Konsa reacted after Arsenal came from behind to beat Chelsea 2-1, with the Gunners creating all four big chances.
- The stats behind Arsenal’s dominance of ChelseaArsenal beat Chelsea 2-1 at the Emirates, but the underlying numbers show a far more dominant display than the scoreline suggests.
- Gabriel Martinelli makes Al-Hilal debutGabriel Martinelli made his Al-Hilal debut less than 24 hours after leaving Arsenal, coming off the bench in a 2-0 Riyadh derby victory.
- Arsenal v Chelsea teams announcedArsenal welcome Chelsea to the Emirates on Sunday and we now know how the two teams will line up.