Atletico Madrid 'difficult' injury update days before Arsenal tie amid triple scare

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Arsenal will be keen to learn the latest updates on Atletico Madrid's injury issues ahead of their key Champions League semi-final tie

Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone is hopeful that key midfielder Pablo Barrios has escaped serious injury ahead of next week's crucial encounter with Arsenal.

The Spanish outfit host the Premier League pacesetters at the Metropolitano on Wednesday for the opening leg of their Champions League semi-final tie.

Barrios, 22, was substituted during Atleti's victory over Athletic Bilbao on Saturday, with Simeone confirming the player will undergo additional examinations to establish whether he has sustained a significant problem.

He said: "I haven't seen him yet. The doctors will inform us what injury he may have. Life often makes it difficult for us and they are doing it with him this year, with respect to injuries. He has to take it as a learning curve, with the strength and willingness to learn from what is happening to him. He must be strong and work.

"Before the game I told him that I trust him a lot, he is very important for us and we are waiting for him. Hopefully the injury is as small as possible and he can be with us at the end of the season."

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Barrios has featured 35 times for Atletico Madrid this campaign, finding the net on one occasion. He completed the entire match when the Spanish club suffered a 4-0 loss to Arsenal in the league phase of the Champions League earlier this term.

While Simeone has his worries, his counterpart Mikel Arteta faces his own challenges. Three Arsenal players were substituted midway through the Gunners' 1-0 victory over Newcastle at the weekend.

Kai Havertz, Eberechi Eze and Martin Zubimendi were all taken off, with Arteta providing updates on the trio following the Newcastle triumph. He said: "[Eberechi] Eze is a big player for us and he's in a really good moment.

"He produced an incredible moment to score the goal. Hopefully he's fit and he can be with us on Wednesday. Zubi [Martin Zubimendi] was sick, and at half-time, he wasn't feeling good. He tried his very best.

"He played a really good game, and in the end, we had to take him off." When asked whether he had spoken to Havertz, the Arsenal manager added: "No I haven't.

"But he had a little niggle so I don't know how serious it is. It didn't look too big because the action, the way he describes it, is not too sharp, but I have to wait and see."