The 32-year-old forward has been an inspirational figure this season, but has lost his team’s last five Serie A games
Atalanta will likely be without top scorer Josip Ilicic for their Champions League quarter-final with Paris Saint-Germain.
The 32-year-old Slovenian forward has starred alongside Gian Piero Gasperini this season, scoring 21 goals in 34 games, including five out of seven in Europe.
His contributions were instrumental in Atalanta’s extraordinary scoring form this year. With a league game to play, they need two more goals to reach 100 in Serie A.
However, he did not perform from the 2-2 draw with Juventus on 11 July, and there seems to be little prospect that he will return soon.
Speaking after a 2-1 win in Parma on Tuesday, Gasperini said Sky Sport Italia: “We are approaching the day [of the PSG game]. With each passing day, it is more difficult to get Ilicic back. It would be very difficult for him to be with us in Lisbon “.
After finishing their league season with a home game against Inter on Saturday, Atalanta will face PSG on August 12th. With the finals of the tournament played as knockout matches in Portugal, the winner will face Atletico Madrid or RB Leipzig in the semifinals.
The Atalanta-PSG appliance seemed like a probable excess of goal, but Ilicic is not the only star in the lead to lose the equipment.
Kylian Mbappe is almost certain to lose the game with an ankle injury in the Coupe de France’s 1-0 final victory over PS-Saint-Étienne, while Angel Di Maria is suspended.
Ligue 1 champions will rely on Neymar and Mauro Icardi to provide attack inspiration, with club record scorer Edinson Cavani leaving after his contract expires.
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While Atalanta would clearly prefer to have Ilicic back, he has scored goals across the team this season.
Colombian duo Duvan Zapata and Luis Muriel have 19 each, while Mario Pasalic and Robin Gosens have also scored double numbers. Ruslan Malinovskiy and Alejandro ‘Papu’ Gomez contributed significantly, with Gomez adding 18 assists to his eight goals.
Atalanta will go into their last league game against Inter trying to secure second place for the first time. This would improve their best third overall, which they managed to reach last season.
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