Why Alexander Sorloth’s mysterious injury is causing Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone a major headache

Sorloth’s absence exacerbated a major shortage of recognised forwards at the start of the campaign. Julian Alvarez joined late following summer transfer speculation and illness, only making his first start against Liverpool at Anfield on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, deadline-day signing Jonathan David arrived late in the transfer window. Simeone was consequently forced to deploy Ademola Lookman out of position as a centre-forward, while Alex Baena and Kang-in Lee also filled in upfront.

Sorloth was heavily linked with a summer departure, attracting serious interest from Juventus alongside enquiries from Turkey. However, Atletico refused to sell their striker for anything less than his full valuation of over €30 million.