The USMNT midfielder and the Argentine international defender have both been ruled out by their respective national team coaching staffs for the final international break of the year. Diego Pablo Simeone is dealing with several injury concerns for Sunday's match against Barcelona at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano.
It is now official that Johnny Cardoso will not be included in Mauricio Pochettino's squad for the upcoming United States fixtures. The midfielder is continuing his recovery from a minor muscle injury in the Spanish capital. He has been training individually over recent days in an attempt to be fit for Sunday's clash against Barcelona at the Metropolitano.
He is not the only Atlético player who will be staying in Madrid during the upcoming international break. Lionel Scaloni has confirmed that Cristian 'Cuti' Romero will also miss Argentina's upcoming friendly matches next week. Diego Pablo Simeone can breathe a sigh of relief as he waits to discover how many players he will have available for Sunday's crucial encounter against Barcelona at the Metropolitano.
Cuti Romero will not be available for the match against the Catalan side. The centre-back has been unable to recover from the injury he sustained almost 10 days ago, which will also rule him out of the friendlies against Uruguay and Costa Rica on November 13 and 17. Atlético Madrid are pleased that Argentina will not force him to travel, although they are extremely disappointed that they will not be able to use him against Barcelona in the coming days.
Johnny Cardoso's situation is more difficult to predict. The player has been training individually as he looks to regain his best physical condition ahead of Sunday's match. His availability remains uncertain, with neither his inclusion nor his absence confirmed for a game in which Atlético Madrid could move to the top of LaLiga with a victory. While waiting for further updates, Diego Pablo Simeone is pleased that Cardoso will remain in the Spanish capital during the next international break.
Atlético Madrid will be looking to bounce back both mentally and on the pitch against Barcelona. Their defeat to Bayern Munich raised concerns that had not been seen around the club for almost eight weeks. Diego Pablo Simeone is keeping his fingers crossed that Johnny Cardoso will be available for what could be an early title decider, although Cristian 'Cuti' Romero will definitely be absent.