José María Giménez left the Cerro del Espino facilities in Majadahonda on Tuesday morning with a serious rictus. The Uruguayan center back had just completed the first recovery session from the last of the many muscle injuries that hamper his career year after year. On Monday, Atlético de Madrid’s medical services had diagnosed him with a tear in his hamstrings that will keep him off the field for at least three weeks. Giménez will miss this Wednesday’s duel against Rayo Vallecano (9:00 p.m., Movistar), Sunday’s derby, the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals against Athletic and he may arrive very soon for the first Champions League match against Inter , in Milan.
The Uruguayan’s mishap added to a concatenation of events that activated sports director Andrea Berta on Monday night, according to As, to address the signing of the Valencian player Gabriel Paulista (33 years old). Azpilicueta’s injury, Söyüncü’s loan to Fenerbahçe and Savic’s poor form pressured Berta to abort Paulista’s move to Besiktas. Atlético was looking for a market opportunity and found it in the Brazilian. This, with a salary of five million gross at Valencia, had a clause whereby if he played 45 minutes in 20 League games his contract was automatically extended for one more year.
Moise Kean, discarded
Valencia wanted to save that chip next season because Baraja’s intention was to line up the Brazilian center back. The red and white club will limit itself to assuming half of the fee that Valencia had to pay this season, 2.5 million euros, and Paulista will sign for the remainder of the season. With the demands of the calendar more imminent, Paulista complies with Simeone’s requirement to bring a sober center back with immediate performance due to his experience and knowledge of the Spanish championship.
Almost at the same time that Paulista’s arrival was finalized, Atlético undid the operation by which the Italian striker Moise Kean arrived on loan until the end of the season from Juventus Turin for 400,000 euros. The Turin club warned that Kean arrived injured and that it would take him a week to be able to join training. After undergoing a medical examination on Monday, according to the club’s medical services, it would take almost a month for Kean to be able to train normally. Kean was a possible replacement for Ángel Correa if he ended up closing his transfer to Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, something that ultimately did not happen.