Inter concerned as Martinez injury at Bodo appears ´pretty serious´

Inter face an anxious wait over the fitness of Lautaro Martinez after the striker limped off in Wednesday’s 3-1 Champions League defeat at Bodo/Glimt.

The Argentina forward hobbled off just past the hour, with the first leg of the play-off tie level at 1-1 at that stage after Francesco Pio Esposito cancelled out Sondre Fet’s opener.

But less than a minute later, Jens Petter Hauge found the net for Bodo before Kasper Hogh added to his two assists with another strike in the 64th minute.

It leaves Inter with a mountain to climb in Tuesday’s return leg at San Siro, where they may be without star striker Martinez.

Chivu initially said Martinez was “lost” before adding: “It means Lautaro got injured, it’s pretty serious.

“I think he is hurt and he will be out for a while.”

Inter have been eliminated from nine of their last 10 European Cup/Champions League knockout ties when losing the first leg, with Chivu admitting his side were caught out.

“The problem is that on some transitions we were surprised by their speed on the break,” he added.

Defeat in Bodø pic.twitter.com/aYbya7D7qu

— Inter (@Inter_en) February 18, 2026

Inter have also now lost four of their last five Champions League matches (W1), as many defeats as they suffered across their prior 34 games in the competition (W22 D8).

Chivu says the artificial pitch at Aspmyra Stadion played its part, though, as Inter struggled for fluidity.

“Bodo/Glimt are more accustomed to this pitch, that’s not an excuse,” he continued. “The tie is wide open, there’s the return leg to come.

“We knew they are a team that can hurt you on the break, now we’ll try to advance to the next round at San Siro.”

Bodo have only played four competitive fixtures since the start of December, but they did not appear like a team struggling for match action.

They remain unbeaten in each of those matches, all in the Champions League (W3 D1).