It is a bitter blow for 'Cholo' Simeone. The Argentine defender had cemented his place as the cornerstone of the Atletico Madrid backline, and his absence was sorely felt on Tuesday at the Metropolitano, where Bayern capitalised on the hosts' defensive frailties to claim all three points.

His omission against Barca came as little surprise once Cuti Romero was left out of the Argentina squad. The centre-back is an undisputed regular under Lionel Scaloni, making his absence an unmistakable sign that his recovery would take longer than initially hoped.

Romero last featured on 17 October against Espanyol, when he sustained a thigh problem expected to keep him out of action for 10 to 15 days. Indeed, he returned to training and made the squad against Levante, where he had been tipped to start, but remained an unused substitute before sitting out the Bayern clash entirely after feeling fresh discomfort.

As a result, the 28-year-old defender will sit out Sunday's heavyweight clash with Barca at the Metropolitano, as well as Argentina's friendlies against Uruguay and Costa Rica on 13 and 17 November.