Atletico Madrid captain Koke was ruled out of their 1-0 defeat at Barcelona due to a late injury.
Los Rojiblancos headed to the Camp Nou on the back of a six-La Liga game winning streak but they were unable to secure a victory in Catalonia.
Ferran Torres’ goal tipped the balance for Barcelona, as they move 11 points clear in the title race, with Atletico battling for a top four spot.
Koke’s omission was a shock pre-game call by Diego Simeone with the experienced Spanish international starting the previous 13 matches in all competitions.
However, as per reports from Mundo Deportivo, a muscle injury picked up in Atletico’s final training session before travelling to Barcelona, ruled him out of the game.
Simeone started his veteran skipper on the bench, but opted against bringing him on at the champions elect, to avoid triggering a longer lay off for the 31-year-old in the busy season run-in.
