Lucas adds to Atletico's defensive crisis ahead of Barcelona tie

Lucas adds to Atletico's defensive crisis ahead of Barcelona tie

Atletico Madrid defender Lucas Hernandez has suffered a back injury while on duty with France under-21s, the France Football Federation has confirmed (FFF). 

He will miss the game against Macedonia this week, which is a qualifier for the European Championships in 2017. 

The centre-back was suffering from persistent back pain, so was sent for tests, the FFF explained, “which revealed a vertebral fracture.”

It doesn’t just come as a blow for the France team, but also for Atletico, who already have defenders Diego Godin, Jose Maria Gimenez and Stefan Savic out of action recovering from injuries. 

It leaves Diego Simeone without a recognised centre-back at the moment, although Lucas’ time out of action has not yet been confirmed. The Rojiblanco boss will be hopeful some of them recover in time for the Champions League clash with Barcelona at the beginning of April. 

In further bad news, Saul Niguez has also injured himself while away with the Spain under-21 side. 

The midfielder, who would be an option to fill in at centre-back, has injured his ankle and has “been treated with cryotherapy and anti-inflammatory medicine,” although it’s not been revealed how long he will remain sidelined.