Last season, La Liga participants Atletico Madrid surprised many when they were able to defeat crosstown rivals Real Madrid to win the UEFA Champions League championship. One of the key components on that championship team was midfielder Mario Suarez, known for his ability to hold the center line and stop offensive attacks. Following a friendly against Wolfsburg in Germany yesterday, however, Suarez may not be competing with Atletico again for quite some time.

At the 20 minute mark in Sunday’s match, Suarez was inadvertently hit with either an elbow or a hip by teammate Cristian Ansaldi as he was challenging Wolfsburg’s Ivica Olic for a header. While the action was innocent, the result was anything but, with Suarez being knocked out and carted off the field before play resumed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMnNnvA4J3g

MEDICAL REPORT. @MarioSuarez4 suffers a traumatic brain injury. He's regained consciousness. He's being taken to the hospital for tests.

— Atleti English (@atletienglish) August 10, 2014

Fortunately, however, Atletico’s phrasing of the injury appears to have been worse than the injury itself.

Following a CT Scan, Suarez was released from the hospital. Suarez tweeted from his hospital bed to ensure all of his fans and followers that everything was fine:

The message from @MarioSuarez4: "I'm much better. It's just been a bad scare. Thanks so much for all your messages!" pic.twitter.com/QbzuMUWyMT

— Atleti English (@atletienglish) August 10, 2014

While Suarez’s head injury may not have been as traumatic as first imagined, no one knows when he will be able to return to play. For a team that is looking to repeat as league champions, such a loss to the defense could be devastating.

Luckily, Atletico Madrid already bolstered its defense by signing right back Jesus Gamez from Malaga late last week. Any stress on the defense could also be lessened soon as Atletico is looking to close out a deal for Mexican star and Club America striker Raúl Jiménez by Wednesday.

The deal, if finalized, would be worth €11 million. As of now, all signs point to go as both squads are on the same page with the transfer: “Effectively, last Thursday or Friday an offer arrived from Atlético Madrid for Raúl Jiménez. We don’t usually speak about offers for contracted players until they’re official. Right now, the club has received the offer. Over the weekend, we’ve spoken with his agent and his father, who both think the offer is good, so the player may go. This still needs to be evaluated, but if both parties are fully satisfied, he’ll go,” stated sporting director of Club America, Ricardo Peláez.

Atletico has little time to prepare with their changes as the club holds its first match of the new season on August 25 against Rayo Vallecano.

Image via Twitter