{"id":588650,"date":"2021-04-07T12:43:10","date_gmt":"2021-04-07T16:43:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/?p=588650"},"modified":"2021-04-07T15:46:40","modified_gmt":"2021-04-07T19:46:40","slug":"luis-suarez-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2021\/04\/07\/luis-suarez-injury\/","title":{"rendered":"Luis Su\u00e1rez Injury Will See Striker Miss Key Games"},"content":{"rendered":"

Atl\u00e9tico Madrid striker Luis Su\u00e1rez<\/a> will miss the team\u2019s next four matches due to injury. The Su\u00e1rez injury will keep him out of some of Atletico Madrid’s biggest games.<\/p>\n

\u201cLuis Su\u00e1rez has suffered a muscle injury to the left leg,\u201d the club confirmed<\/a>. \u201cThe striker underwent medical tests on Wednesday after feeling pain in training that confirmed the injury. The Uruguayan is pending response to treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n

The injury to Su\u00e1rez comes at a crucial moment in Los Colchoneros<\/em>\u2019 efforts to win their first La Liga<\/a> title since 2013\/14.<\/p>\n

Su\u00e1rez, 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<\/a>, home to Eibar and SD Huesca and away to Athletic Club<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Depending on the severity of the injury, the Uruguayan international is also at risk of missing even more time. Su\u00e1rez has been Atl\u00e9ti\u2019s most important player<\/a>\u00a0this year, scoring roughly two-fifths of the team\u2019s 51 goals in the campaign.<\/p>\n

Su\u00e1rez Injury Will See Striker Miss Key Games<\/h2>\n

Su\u00e1rez: The Scorer of Critical Goals<\/h3>\n

Not only has the 34-year-old scored plenty of goals for the club, but he has done so in key moments. Su\u00e1rez scored the only goal in a 1-1 draw against Real Madrid<\/a> earlier this year.<\/p>\n

He also scored winning goals against Getafe, Eibar, Athletic Club and twice against Alav\u00e9s. On three separate occasions, braces from the Uruguayan have earned Atl\u00e9ti all three points or salvaged a draw.<\/p>\n

Away from his prolific goal scoring this year, the former Barcelona<\/a> and Liverpool<\/a> star has helped the team become more attacking. Los Colchoneros<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n

Su\u00e1rez\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

The only other time Su\u00e1rez missed a significant run of games this season was when he was sidelined for two league matches with COVID-19 in November and December. Atl\u00e9ti scraped by in both, with two 1-0 wins over Barcelona and Valencia.<\/p>\n

This Weekend\u2019s Match Against Real Betis Could Be Title Decider<\/h3>\n

This weekend will prove to be a decisive one in the title race, with Real Madrid hosting Barcelona on Saturday. Depending on the result, Alt\u00e9ti may find themselves out of the top spot for the first time since week 13 of the season.<\/p>\n

Fans of the club will undoubtedly be praying for a draw in El Clasico<\/em>. If Atl\u00e9ti 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.<\/p>\n

However, a win in Seville is far from certain for Los Colchoneros<\/em>. Atl\u00e9ti narrowly defeated Betis 2-0 back in October, with Su\u00e1rez scoring one of the goals, but Los Verdiblancos<\/em> have won six of their last nine<\/a>, kept four clean sheets and scored twice in a 3-2 loss to Barcelona.<\/p>\n

Adding to coach Diego Simeone\u2019s headaches will be the absences of fellow attackers Jo\u00e3o F\u00e9lix<\/a> and Moussa Demb\u00e9l\u00e9<\/a> for Sunday\u2019s clash with Betis, with the former sustaining an ankle injury and the latter suffering from a lack of fitness.<\/p>\n

F\u00e9lix 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 Alt\u00e9ti in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

Should the club fail to win on Sunday after either a Barcelona or Madrid win the previous day, it is hard to see how Atl\u00e9tico can go on to win the league after leading by as much as ten points<\/a> in January.<\/p>\n

Main Photo
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>