Atlético Madrid will be without Pablo Barrios for Wednesday’s Champions League semifinal first leg against Arsenal, and there is now a real chance the midfielder could miss the rest of the season after another thigh strain interrupted his return from nearly three months out. The setback strips Diego Simeone’s side of a player who had only just come back from a muscle injury before being forced back onto the treatment table.
Barrios’ absence is the sharpest blow in a match already shaped by fitness worries on both sides. Julián Alvarez is expected to play against Arsenal after sitting out Atlético’s previous two fixtures following his goal in the ultimately unsuccessful Copa del Rey final, giving Simeone at least one important attacking option back for Wednesday’s first leg.
Arsenal, meanwhile, are carrying their own concerns into the tie. Mikel Arteta said of Kai Havertz’s issue that, “They are muscular niggles, we don’t think it’s too much,” before adding, “We have to wait and see.” Havertz walked straight down the tunnel midway through the first half against Newcastle United on Saturday, in a match Arsenal won 1–0, and the manager stopped short of offering a firm update.
There was slightly better news on Eberechi Eze, who scored against Newcastle on Saturday afternoon before hobbling off at the start of the second half. He later said he was “O.K.” and that he had simply been removed as a precaution, softening immediate fears that he had joined the growing list of players carrying knocks into a decisive week.
The timing matters because Wednesday’s first leg is arriving with both clubs trying to manage the thin line between recovery and risk. Atlético’s problem is the loss of a midfielder who had only just rebuilt his rhythm, while Arsenal are watching two players with the capacity to alter the match if they are fit enough to start and stay on the field.
That leaves the game balanced not only on tactics and form but on which side can absorb its injuries better. Atlético have already lost Barrios, and Arsenal still do not know whether Havertz is merely dealing with a minor muscular issue or something that could limit him further, which makes the next 24 hours as important as anything that happens on the pitch in Madrid.
