Atlético Madrid striker Luis Suárez will miss the team’s next four matches due to injury. The Suárez injury will keep him out of some of Atletico Madrid’s biggest games.
“Luis Suárez has suffered a muscle injury to the left leg,” the club confirmed. “The striker underwent medical tests on Wednesday after feeling pain in training that confirmed the injury. The Uruguayan is pending response to treatment.”
The injury to Suárez comes at a crucial moment in Los Colchoneros’ efforts to win their first La Liga title since 2013/14.
Suárez, who has scored 19 goals and assisted two in 26 games in the 2020/21 La Liga campaign, will miss critical matchups at Real Betis, home to Eibar and SD Huesca and away to Athletic Club.
Depending on the severity of the injury, the Uruguayan international is also at risk of missing even more time. Suárez has been Atléti’s most important player this year, scoring roughly two-fifths of the team’s 51 goals in the campaign.
Suárez Injury Will See Striker Miss Key Games
Suárez: The Scorer of Critical Goals
Not only has the 34-year-old scored plenty of goals for the club, but he has done so in key moments. Suárez scored the only goal in a 1-1 draw against Real Madrid earlier this year.
He also scored winning goals against Getafe, Eibar, Athletic Club and twice against Alavés. On three separate occasions, braces from the Uruguayan have earned Atléti all three points or salvaged a draw.
Away from his prolific goal scoring this year, the former Barcelona and Liverpool star has helped the team become more attacking. Los Colchoneros have already scored as many goals in the current campaign as they did last season and are easily on pace to exceed their goal totals from 2018/19 and 2017/18.
Suárez’s link-up play and ability to hold up the ball with his back to the goal will also mean other key attackers can play to their full potential.
The only other time Suárez missed a significant run of games this season was when he was sidelined for two league matches with COVID-19 in November and December. Atléti scraped by in both, with two 1-0 wins over Barcelona and Valencia.
This Weekend’s Match Against Real Betis Could Be Title Decider
This weekend will prove to be a decisive one in the title race, with Real Madrid hosting Barcelona on Saturday. Depending on the result, Altéti may find themselves out of the top spot for the first time since week 13 of the season.
Fans of the club will undoubtedly be praying for a draw in El Clasico. If Atléti can beat Betis, the club would pull three points ahead of Barcelona in second and five points ahead of Real Madrid in third with eight matches left to go. They currently sit just one point ahead of Barcelona and three above Real Madrid.
However, a win in Seville is far from certain for Los Colchoneros. Atléti narrowly defeated Betis 2-0 back in October, with Suárez scoring one of the goals, but Los Verdiblancos have won six of their last nine, kept four clean sheets and scored twice in a 3-2 loss to Barcelona.
Adding to coach Diego Simeone’s headaches will be the absences of fellow attackers João Félix and Moussa Dembélé for Sunday’s clash with Betis, with the former sustaining an ankle injury and the latter suffering from a lack of fitness.
Félix has scored seven goals and assisted four in La Liga so far. Without two of their top scorers in the team, it is hard to see where the goals will come from for Altéti in the coming weeks.
Should the club fail to win on Sunday after either a Barcelona or Madrid win the previous day, it is hard to see how Atlético can go on to win the league after leading by as much as ten points in January.
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