Out of the World Cup? Morata injured

What national team managers fear the most is happening, and a lot. There are several players who are in with a shout of being called up for the World Cup who have been injured in recent weeks, and Alvaro Morata is the latest one. He had to be subbed off after 10 minutes in Atletico Madrid's league trip away to Cadiz.

Because the slip was recent, the gravity of the injury is not yet known, and neither is how long he will be out. The Spanish national side will get together in around three weeks for the World Cup, so there is not a lot of time for the Atletico doctors to act and help him recover.

It is Morata himself who will want to be back the most, who realises he is one of Luis Enrique's main men. In an agonising end to the game against Portugal, he scored the goal which sent Spain into the final four of the Nations League, so he will go in to November and December with a lot of confidence.

This news comes at a bad time for Atletico. They were knock-out of the Champions League after drawing to Bayer Leverkusen with one matchday left, they conceded to Cadiz after just 27 seconds, and now they have lost one of their main strikers.