Lautaro Martinez Could Be Benched In Inter’s Champions League Clash With Barcelona As Safety Precaution, Italian Media Report | OneFootball

Inter striker Lautaro Martinez is not a guarantee to start this evening’s Champions League clash with Barcelona, as his fitness might not necessarily be risked from the start.

This according to today’s print edition of Turin-based newspaper Tuttosport, who report that the 25-year-old could be benched for the group stage clash if the feeling is that a start would be taking too much of a risk with his fitness.

Martinez is fit enough to start against the Blaugranas, as the thigh problem that he picked up after the Nerazzurri’s Serie A match against Roma on Saturday is not serious.

However, this does not mean that the Argentine is at 100%, and in cases like this there are always pros and cons to be weighed up, as the team have many important matches to come.

If Martinez starts and ends up worsening his muscular problem to the extent that he misses matches down the line it would be a big problem.

Accordingly, there is not any certainty that the Argentine will start this evening, and coach Simone Inzaghi could opt for caution and bench him.