Inter Milan captain a major doubt for Barcelona clash, defender could return – report | OneFootball

Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram have been the leaders of Inter Milan’s attack this season and were instrumental in opening up Barcelona’s backline and giving their team a 2-0 lead early at Montjuic.

The latter was earlier expected to miss the game through injury but managed to recover in time. Not only did he feature, for Thuram starred during his time on the field with a goal to his name.

Unfortunately for Inter Milan, the second key cog Martinez went off the field injured late in the first half and AS brings to light that his situation is not looking good.

A doubt for the reverse fixture

As relayed by the Spanish outlet, the Italian media are painting a pessimistic picture of the Inter Milan captain’s injury and claim that only a ‘miracle’ can see him play next week in the second leg.

Lautaro suffered an injury vs Barcelona. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

In fact, they also further that the player’s injury may well be serious enough to doubt his participation in the final three matchdays of the Serie A where they are in a tight race against Napoli.

The World Cup winner is usually not a player to give up easily on the field even if experiencing pain. For him to leave the pitch after the first half during a UCL semifinal, thus, indirectly implies that the blow is something serious.

While Inter will undoubtedly feel gutted by the development, star defender Benjamin Pavard is reported to have a good chance of making it back for the second leg against Barcelona in what comes as a massive boost for Simone Inzaghi.

The Frenchman missed the first leg after suffering an ankle sprain last weekend in Serie A against AS Roma. However, there seems to be a chance for him to return next week.

Meanwhile, Barcelona will be without Jules Kounde who was injured in the first leg. Alejandro Balde, however, is expected to start the upcoming reverse fixture while Robert Lewandowski could be back on the bench.