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Serie A leaders Inter Milan are set to be without captain Lautaro Martínez for the foreseeable future.
Martínez was forced off in the 61st minute of Inter’s 3-1 away loss to Bodo/Glimt in the first leg of the Champions League playoff round on Wednesday. The Argentina forward underwent tests on Friday which confirmed an issue with his left calf and he will be ruled out of Saturday’s trip to Lecce at the very least.
While Inter have not yet provided an exact timeline for his recovery, reports in Italy suggest he could be sidelined for up to a month.
That would mean Martínez missing the return match against Bodo on Tuesday, as well as a Serie A clash with Genoa and the first leg of the Coppa Italia semifinal against Como. He also looks to be a doubt for the crucial derby against second-placed AC Milan on March 8.
Martínez has scored 18 goals in all competitions for the San Siro outfit to fire them to the Serie A summit.
“Lautaro Martínez underwent clinical and instrumental tests this morning at the Istituto Clinico Humanitas in Rozzano,” an Inter statement read.
“The examinations revealed a strain to the soleus muscle in his left calf. The condition of the Argentinian forward will be reassessed next week.”
Inter’s six-match winning streak was halted in shock fashion on Wednesday when they lost to Norwegian minnows Bodo.
Inter will attempt to return to winning ways at lowly Lecce but required a 78th-minute winner from Pio Esposito last month to earn a narrow 1-0 win over the same opposition at San Siro.
Head coach Christian Chivu called for calm after they lost at Bodo with Inter still in a strong position domestically, boasting a seven-point advantage over AC Milan, but the Romanian coach may have half an eye on Tuesday’s return meeting when he selects his lineup at Lecce.
“Now we need to regather ourselves,” Chivu told the official club website. “We have a few issues after this game that we need to address carefully.
“We have to play Lecce and then we have the return leg on Tuesday. We need to assess our physical condition.”
Lecce are 17th in Serie A but won 2-0 at Cagliari on Monday and hold a three-point lead over the relegation zone.
PA contributed to this report.
