A left hamstring strain will keep Lautaro Martinez out for the best part of a month. The 29-year-old captain underwent clinical and diagnostic tests at the Istituto Humanitas in Rozzano on Thursday.
“The tests revealed a strain in his left hamstring,” Inter said in a statement.
The Argentina international went down late in Tuesday’s chaotic 3-4 Champions League defeat to Club Brugge at the San Siro, a result that ended Inter’s unbeaten start to the league phase. He still scored twice before coming off injured, and he has four Serie A goals this season for the league leaders.
Hamstring strains of this grade rarely heal in less than a fortnight, and AFP reports that a comeback only after the November international break is the realistic target. The trip to Atalanta on 22 November is the fixture Inter are now circling.
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Bologna, Shakhtar and the Milan derby
Lautaro will not travel to Bologna for Saturday’s Serie A fixture and will also miss the home Champions League tie with Shakhtar Donetsk the following Wednesday. Goal reports that the home game against Fiorentina on 25 October and the trip to Venezia on 28 October also fall inside the recovery window.
The derby at the San Siro on 31 October is the fixture the club is weighing most carefully. Inter will push to have the captain available, but the medical staff do not expect him back in time.
Thuram, Esposito and Bonny step up
Cristian Chivu’s attack will now lean on Marcus Thuram, Pio Esposito and Ange-Yoan Bonny. The three deputised during Lautaro’s earlier soleus layoff this calendar year, and the same rotation returns for a demanding October.
The captain has already lost chunks of 2026 to the soleus problem, first suffered in February’s Champions League tie against Bodo/Glimt. ESPN reported in April that he had returned after a seven-week layoff only to pick up a fresh strain in his first match back.
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Inter travel to Bologna on Saturday for the first fixture without their captain.
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