Atletico Madrid wonderkid Joao Felix has suffered a knee injury in training as the La Liga club stepped up their return to full fitness.
Felix, 20, has been a key part of Diego Simeone’s squad which has reached the UEFA Champions League last eight and are battling for a top four spot in La Liga.
It appears that Felix’s initial diagnosis is an MCL sprain, which could well see him miss some of the season when it restarts next month following the suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Atletico posted an update, sating that Felix: “Suffered a sprain of the medial collateral ligament of the left knee. as confirmed by the tests he has undergone at the University of Navarra Clinic. The Portuguese international is pending evaluation.”
Atletico, like all professional clubs in Spain, had yet to return to full group training and were instead putting on sessions in groups of 10 players at a time.
La Liga aim to get the 2019-20 season restarted on June 11 and Spain’s top-flight still have 11 rounds of matches to play.
Felix has scored six goals and added two assists in 28 appearances in all competitions after his $137 million move from Benfica last summer. Although those numbers seem modest, he does bring a calmness to Atletico’s often hectic play and he has clearly improved the longer the 2019-20 season has gone on.
Simeone will be sweating on Felix’s fitness as Atletico currently sit in sixth place but are just one point off the top four and they have a relatively easy schedule remaining. They do have to travel to Barcelona and all signs point to their final two games of the season, against top four rivals Getafe and Real Sociedad, as being key in whether or not they’ll be in the UEFA Champions League next season.
