BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Inter Milan captain Lautaro Martínez had to be substituted at halftime in the first leg of his team’s Champions League semifinal against Barcelona on Wednesday and is unlikely to recover in time for the return match next week.
Lautaro looked distraught and in pain as he started hobbling shortly before halftime. The Argentina World Cup winner managed to play out the final seconds of the first half but didn’t come out after the break.
The forward was replaced by Mehdi Taremi and the rollercoaster match ended in a 3-3 draw.
“I hope we don’t lose Lautaro but I have my doubts,” Inter coach Simone Inzaghi said. “It will be very difficult to have him for the return match. Probably we’ll play without our captain.”
Lautaro has scored 21 goals and added six assists for Inter across all competitions this season.
The score was 2-2 at halftime after Barcelona rallied from going two goals behind.
Marcus Thuram, who was returning from injury, and Denzel Dumfries had put Inter 2-0 up inside 21 minutes but Lamine Yamal scored a stunning goal and Ferran Torres leveled for Barcelona in the 38th minute.
Dumfries doubled his tally after the break but Raphinha’s strike hit the crossbar and ricocheted in off Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer moments later.
The second leg will be next Tuesday in Milan. The winner will face either Paris Saint-Germain or Arsenal in Munich on May 31. PSG beat Arsenal 1-0 in London on Tuesday in their first match.
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