Pablo Barrios ruled out for Real Sociedad after Atlético confirm leg injury from Liverpool defeat

Atlético de Madrid have confirmed that Pablo Barrios is carrying a low-grade myofascial injury in his right leg, sustained during the club’s 2-1 Champions League defeat to Liverpool at Anfield. The midfielder was substituted in the 77th minute of that match, and the club’s medical staff have since identified the injury as the cause. He will not be available for Sunday’s La Liga fixture away at Real Sociedad in San Sebastián.

Atlético’s official statement, issued on Saturday, confirmed the diagnosis and the immediate absence but stopped short of placing a firm timeline on his recovery. The club said: “Pablo Barrios no estará disponible para San Sebastián. El centrocampista acabó con molestias el encuentro ante el Liverpool y, tras las pruebas realizadas por los servicios médicos del club, se ha confirmado que sufre una lesión miofascial de bajo grado en la pierna derecha.”

Whether Barrios will recover in time for the subsequent fixtures against Osasuna and, more significantly, the Madrid derby against Real Madrid remains an open question. Reporting from Sport frames those matches as probable absences rather than confirmed ones — a distinction Atlético’s own statement does not resolve. Fantasy football outlet Comuniate has gone further, suggesting Barrios is very unlikely to feature in the derby and may not return to competition until after the international break, though that assessment has not been corroborated by the club.

The timing is a significant blow for Diego Simeone. Barrios had been one of Atlético’s more influential players across their opening four La Liga matches — two wins, a draw and a defeat, yielding seven points — starting three of those games and accumulating 294 minutes and an assist. He was also part of the starting XI at Anfield before his second-half withdrawal, which now appears to have been the first visible sign of the problem.

His absence adds further pressure to a midfield already stretched by other injury concerns, forcing Simeone to reshuffle his options at a demanding point in the calendar. For now, the only certainty is that Barrios misses Real Sociedad, with his return date contingent on how the injury responds over the coming days.