Exequiel Palacios has been hit again. The Argentinian injured his thigh again in Freiburg and is out for two international matches. At the very least, his participation for Bayer 04 against Hoffenheim could be in jeopardy
He had just got back into the swing of things when Exequiel Palacios was hit by another injury. And again in his right thigh.
During Leverkusen’s 3:2 win in Freiburg, the defensive midfielder was substituted in the 89th minute after grabbing the back of his right thigh and stretching it. On Monday, the Argentine Football Association announced that the 25-year-old would be out with a muscle injury.
As Palacios will have to miss the entire international tour with the world champions in the USA, where Argentina will face El Salvador in Philadelphia on Saturday (1.30am German time) and Costa Rica in Los Angeles on Wednesday (3.50am German time), there are indications that it is likely to be at least a minor structural injury.
Palacios first injured his right thigh in January
This suggests that Palacios’ participation in Leverkusen’s first competitive match after the international break against TSG Hoffenheim (March 30) is at least at risk. If it’s just a minor muscle fiber tear, he may be able to play in the DFB Cup semi-final against Fortuna Düsseldorf on April 3
For Palacios, the new injury is bitter in any case. After all, the technician had only suffered a serious injury to his right thigh in the 3-2 win in Leipzig on January 20. On that occasion, the front muscles were affected.
After a poor comeback in the starting eleven in the 2:2 Europa League draw at Qarabag Agdam at the beginning of March, the Gaucho had then shown his class in the 2:0 win against Wolfsburg and the 3:2 win in the second leg against Qarabag (as a substitute), before he was hit again in Freiburg.
