National team star Alexander Sørloth (30) is injured and will have to train individually in the future. Atlético Madrid confirms this in a status message where they write that he has a muscle contracture.
It has not been an easy friendly for Atletico. The red and whites, who can proudly boast of being the team with the most finalists in the World Cup, have seen how that ‘award’ completely characterized the work before the start of the season. And now that Simeone is starting to find players, he is facing another setback. Alexander Sorloth suffers a muscle injury that forces him to sit out the first games of the season.
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The Norwegian’s absence, along with the short preparation time Julián gets before his debut against Málaga, leaves Cholo practically without options in attack. With Lookman, who was practically turned into an offensive reference during this friendly match, Atlético will face the league opener in a complicated situation. While waiting for possible movements in the market, Simeone must use his ingenuity to find alternatives to the red-and-white attack.
It is currently uncertain when the striker will be back in full training with the team. Spanish Marca writes that Sørloth will miss “the first games of the season”. The newspaper further reports that he had to go to a training session last week – and that he did not travel with the rest of the team to South Korea, where Atlético played a friendly against Manchester City (1-3 loss).
Spanish AS also reports that Sørloth will be out for “at least three weeks”.
Atlético will play their last pre-season friendly on Friday, opening the series with an away game against Málaga on August 19. Without Sørloth available, Diego Simeone will probably have to adjust his attack for the first few rounds.
Alexander Sørloth joined Atlético Madrid from Villarreal in the summer of 2024, in a transfer worth around €30 million. After several years of loan and wandering life – with stints at clubs such as Midtjylland, Crystal Palace, Leipzig, Real Sociedad and Villarreal – the Norwegian finally found his footing in Spain’s capital.
In his first season at Atlético, he quickly became a key player for Diego Simeone. With 20 goals and 5 assists in 43 games, he established himself as one of La Liga’s most feared strikers. Especially his strength in the air, physique and ability to finish with both legs made him indispensable.
In the 2025/26 season, Sørloth continued to deliver – with 14 goals in 32 games, despite struggling with minor injury problems along the way. He also became an increasingly important piece for the Norwegian national team, where he together with Erling Braut Haaland has formed one of Europe’s most dangerous attacking pairs.
Now Sørloth has two years left on his contract with Atlético – and the club hopes he is back in full vigour before the autumn’s toughest matches. But first, the 30-year-old has to get through a new injury period and back on the pitch for both club and country.
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