The mystery of Saúl's absence: between veganism and Torres's influence

• Atlético.The reasons for the explosion of Joao Félix: regularity and a "youth squad" attitude

Saúl Ñíguez (Elche, 1994) was last seen in a match just a month ago.

Against Villarreal, in the Wanda Metropolitano, he shared midfield with

, who unknowingly drew a silent farewell.

Atlético went into the break with a bland goalless draw and the Spanish player, after a personally inconsequential afternoon, and without apparent physical problems, disappeared without a trace.

Weeks of mystery in which the club has not officially clarified its situation with any party either.

I'm not a doctor to talk about muscle injuries.

Hopefully he continues his progression and can be with us because we need him ”,

ventured last Friday

, who has always stood up for the youth squad, after Saúl's first training session with his teammates.

On Sunday he got on a plane to Moscow, to push, probably from the bench, in front of Lokomotiv.

The story would not go beyond a mere anecdote were it not for the fact that until this enigmatic parenthesis, he had not missed a Champions League match since 2015. In total, 49 duels in a row and 43 as a starter.

His last absence was in the first leg of the quarterfinals five years ago, against Real Madrid.

That night, still convalescing from the trauma that nearly caused him to lose a kidney in Leverkusen, he stayed on the bench.

Last year only

played more minutes than him (4,246).

And in 17/18, whether he was midfielder, inside or even left back, he went to 4,751 minutes, the highest level of the squad.

For five years, always in the top 5 of the most recurring.

For Simeone, Saúl is not negotiated.

You may have bad days as they are.

"It's fundamental for us," Cholo often repeats insistently.

Last week, he was seen (and heard) after the match against Salzburg.

It was in a conversation in the dressing room tunnel with Oblak, about the excellence of

, captured by the cameras.

Coincidence or not, during confinement for the coronavirus last spring, Saúl took the opportunity to give his body a nutritional change: he switched to veganism.

«It is a lifestyle more than a food choice.

The truth is that it has not been difficult for me because I have done it through a slow process, and always in a controlled way by a nutritionist ”, he revealed in August, during an interview in 'Euronews'.

Fourth captain and father in a few months

The change of eating habit is not a simple whim, but it was a recommendation of his personal nutritionist,

, to alleviate the workload of the left kidney, the one that almost lost in Leverkusen.

For two years, he was already a vegetarian to prevent his organ from working excessively processing proteins.

In summer he showed his body in his social networks, which appeared sharper than usual if possible.

There are even those who say that since their transition to veganism, their performance has decreased.

"It seems that he has less strength," they suggest from circles close to the rojiblanco club.

The numbers, which do not usually lie, say that this month he has been on leave (although without a medical report) the same games as in his convalescence due to kidney problems and only one less than in his entire stage at Atlético, more beyond that mishap in Germany.

Saúl has been the fourth captain of the squad for a year and has never hidden his admiration for

, who has exerted a great influence on him during the three and a half seasons that coincided in the dressing room.

Since then, he has never refused to raise his voice and show his face after a bad game.

That character, together with their footballing conditions, with indelible goals in the recent memory of the rojiblanca fans (Chileans against Real Madrid, slalom against Bayern, header in Leicester ...) makes the leadership of the entity continue to trust blindly in the.

As much as his coach.

In a few months, he will also be a dad.

Africa is also going to need you.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

• sports

• football

Champions LeagueThe penalty of Frenkie de Jong in Barcelona

LaLigaPlay without an audience favors the visitor: the data that proves it

FootballThe battle of Real Madrid and Barcelona against their decline

See links of interest

• Last minute

• Spanish translator

• Programming

• 2020 calendar

• Movies Today

• Topics

• UD Logroñés - Alcorcón

• Sporting de Gijón - Castellón

• Fulham - West Bromwich Albion

• TSG Hoffenheim - 1. FC Union Berlin

• Verona - Benevento