JAKARTA - The leader of the Serie A standings, Inter Milan, is certain to lose their captain, Lautaro Martinez, for an undetermined period of time.
Martinez was forced off in the 61st minute in Inter Milan's 1-3 away defeat against Bodo/Glimt in the first leg of the Champions League playoff on Thursday, February 19, 2026.
The Argentine striker underwent an examination on Friday, February 20, 2026, which confirmed the problem in his left calf. Initially, he was absent for the away match to Lecce headquarters on Sunday, February 22, 2026, early in the morning WIB, which Inter Milan won 2-0.
However, Inter Milan have not given an exact recovery time estimate. Reports in Italy suggest he could be out for up to a month.
"Lautaro Martinez underwent clinical and instrumental tests this morning (Friday, February 20, 2026) at the Istituto Clinico Humanitas in Rozzano."
"The examination revealed an injury to the soleus muscle in his left calf. The condition of the Argentine striker will be re-evaluated next week," Inter said at the weekend.
This means Martinez will miss the second leg against Bodo/Glimt on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, early morning WIB, as well as the Serie A match against Genoa and the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final against Como.
He is also in doubt for the important derby against AC Milan who are in second place on March 8, 2026.
Martinez has scored 18 goals in all competitions to lead Inter Milan to the top of the Serie A standings.
The Nerazzurri's six-match winning streak was halted surprisingly when they lost to the small Norwegian team, Bodo/Glimt.
Inter Milan then returned to the winning track at home to Lecce who are in the bottom of the standings with a convincing score. In fact, they needed a 78th-minute winning goal from Pio Esposito last month to earn a narrow 1-0 victory over the same opponent at the Giuseppe Meazza.
Manager Christian Chivu called for calm after their home defeat to Bodo/Glimt, with Inter Milan still in a strong position in the domestic league - seven points ahead of AC Milan.
However, the Romanian coach has already considered the second leg when he chose his line-up in Lecce.
"Now we need to regroup. We have some problems after this game that we need to address carefully."
"We have to play against Lecce and then we have the second leg of the Champions League playoff. We need to assess the physical condition," said Chivu.
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