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Injury woe for Atlético's Costa and Turan

Club Atlético de Madrid face an anxious wait over Diego Costa and Arda Turan ahead of the UEFA Champions League final against Real Madrid CF, who also have concerns.

Atlético's Diego Costa after sustaining a hamstring injury
Atlético's Diego Costa after sustaining a hamstring injury ©AFP/Getty Images

Club Atlético de Madrid's Diego Costa and Arda Turan are in danger of missing next Saturday's UEFA Champions League final against Real Madrid CF after suffering injuries during their team's title-winning Liga draw at FC Barcelona.

Having overseen a 1-1 draw that secured Los Rojiblancos' tenth Spanish Liga crown, coach Diego Simeone was left with question marks over the fitness of two key players ahead of next weekend's match in Lisbon. Forward Costa was forced off at the Camp Nou in the 16th minute after pulling up with a right hamstring problem while Arda Turan limped off seven minutes later with a pelvic complaint. Although Atlético have confirmed both injuries, official word has yet to be given on approximate recovery times.  

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, meanwhile, played down the significance of injuries to Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema. The Portuguese attacker – who was due to start his team's final Liga game against RCD Espanyol – withdrew with a reported hamstring problem during the pre-match warm-up.

"Cristiano wasn't comfortable before the game," Ancelotti said after a 3-1 win. "Yesterday he trained well and was confident. We decided not to risk things today. A test has been carried out and the indications are that he has a strain. We're not worrying as he has time enough to recover for the final. He hasn't played in recent games. With the team facing such an important game we didn't need to take a risk."

Of Benzema – who was replaced by Álvaro Morata in the 67th minute against Espanyol – Ancelotti said, "[He picked up] a small abductor strain when playing a pass through to [Gareth] Bale. I don't think he'll have any problems to play the final."

The 54-year-old – whose side finished their Liga campaign in third position – was also pleased with defender Pepe's progress in his recovery from a calf complaint. "Pepe has improved," the coach explained. "I think that he will begin working on the [training] pitch tomorrow. He has been having treatment and was jogging in the gym. We are confident he will play." 

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