Duvan Zapata could remain out of action for three months, so Atalanta could draft in Graziano Pellé, who is available as a free agent.
Zapata returned to action against Cagliari during the weekend after missing the previous three games with a muscle injury. However, he suffered a new physical issue during the game with the Sardinians on Sunday and could remain out of action for more than two months.
There are mixed reports regarding Zapata’s return to action on Italian media, but all claim the 30-year-old will miss at least two months due to a new muscle injury.
Having loaned Roberto Piccoli out to Genoa in January, La Dea will need to return on the market but could only draft in players available as free agents.
According to Calciomercato.com, former Parma striker Graziano Pellé is one of those monitored by the Nerazzurri, who are in the race for a top-four finish this season.
Atalanta are expected to release an official statement on Zapata’s injury and recovery time today.
#Atalanta, #Zapata rischia uno stop molto lungo: si torna sul mercato, c'è un'idea a sorpresa https://t.co/CmNTLNbMtf pic.twitter.com/Z5glJTlWiQ
— calciomercato.com (@cmdotcom) February 8, 2022
I don’t think Atalanta will have any chance of a top 4 finish without Zapata. Tough luck.
Whelps, Juve got the current top scorer and Atalanta lost theirs.. Doesn’t look good for fighting the CL spots. We’ll see how Gasp cope with this.
Huge loss for Atalanta, given they could do well in the Europa.
Damn. Three months is practically the rest of the season. A week ago I thought Napoli or Milan would be the most likely to lose their top 4 spot to Juventus, but after the derby, seeing this (and Atalanta‘s loss this past weekend), and maybe underrating the impact of Osimhen returning to actin makes me think that Atalanta will be the odd-man out. If they miss out on the CL could it be the beginning of the end for them?