Gimenez limps out of Wales v Uruguay to worry Atletico

Atletico Madrid have concerns over Jose Gimenez after the defender was replaced during the opening stages of Uruguay’s China Cup match against Wales on Monday.

The defender went down awkwardly following a collision with Wales midfielder Andy King and had pitch-side treatment to his lower left leg before departing.

Gimenez has made 32 appearances in all competitions for Atletico this season, forming a key alliance with international team-mate Diego Godin at the heart of Diego Simeone’s miserly defence.

Atleti lie second in LaLiga, 11 points shy of champions-elect Barcelona, and have only been breached 14 times in 29 top-flight matches.

#ChinaCup | Formación de @Uruguay que enfrenta a Gales por la final del torneo en el Guangxi Sports Center de Nanning. pic.twitter.com/DvwWacltMi

— Selección Uruguaya (@Uruguay) March 26, 2018

Simeone’s men return to league action on Sunday at home to Deportivo La Coruna – the start of an eight-day period that takes in the first leg of a Europa League quarter-final against Sporting CP and El Derbi at the Santiago Bernabeu against Real Madrid.

Montenegro international Stefan Savic returned from a hamstring injury to take a place on the bench for a 2-1 loss at Villarreal last time out and would probably step in if Gimenez is ruled out for a period of time.

With Savic back, Simeone might have been hoping to use Gimenez at right-back after Juanfran sustained a hamstring problem in the 5-1 Europa League win at Lokomotiv Moscow.