Lautaro Martinez's injury does not scare Chivu » What statistics does Inter have without the Nerazzurri captain
Article by Daniel Scorpie – Published Friday, February 20, 2026 8:07 p.m. / Updated Friday, February 20, 2026 8:14 p.m.
Lautaro Martinez (28 years old) will be absent for at least a month after the injury suffered in the match against Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League play-off. The Inter captain is a loss for Cristi Chivu, but the Nerazzurri have done very well without the Argentine forward. The last failure without Lautaro was in March 2019!
Inter lost not only the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie, but also this season's top scorer in Serie A. Lautaro Martinez tore up on the synthetic turf in Bodo and limped back to Milan. And today, after the first medical examinations, it was found out that he will certainly not be available for the derby with AC Milan in over two weeks.
Lautaro Martinez, captain of Inter/ photo: Imago Images
“Lautaro Martinez underwent clinical and imaging investigations today at the Humanitas Institute in Rozzano and the analyzes revealed a muscle strain in the soleus muscle of the left leg. The Argentine striker's situation will be reevaluated next week”, is the official statement given by Inter at noon.
171of goals has Lautaro Martinez in 370 games played at Inter. He is the third best scorer in the history of the Nerazzurri club
The Italian press writes that there could be at least a month off for the Nerazzurri captain in a very busy period of matches for the team prepared by Chivu.
Lautaro Martinez has 18 goals and 4 assists in 35 games!
The absence of Martinez is a considerable offensive limitation, not only in the key to qualification in the “eights” of the League. Lautaro netted 14 goals and provided 4 assists in the league plus he managed four goals in the Champions League.
This season, the Argentinian striker has missed just one game, which Inter won away to Ajax. But, looking back at Lautaro's seasons, we learn that it is not the end of the country without him. On the contrary. In the last seven years, the Nerazzurri have never lost when Martinez was unavailable!
Even if Lautaro's absence is a significant problem for Chivu, the coach has excellent alternatives to his predecessor, Simone Inzaghi. Pio Esposito and Ange-Yoan Bonny did very well when sent on by the Serie A leaders.
Lautaro Martinez, the captain of Inter, will miss the return with Bodo/Glimt / Photo: Imago
The last defeat suffered by Inter without the Argentinian in the field was on March 31, 2019. The team then coached by Luciano Spalletti was defeated (0-1) by Lazio on “Giuseppe Meazza”.
In the Champions League, however, the last defeat took place on November 28, 2018, away to Tottenham, in a group from which Inter exited before the knockout stages.
Inter's results without Lautaro Martinez
Season 2025-2026: a win in the only match he was absent (2-0 against Ajax) in the Champions League;
Season 2024-2025: 6 wins and a draw in 7 games in Serie A plus a success in the only absence in the Champions League;
Season 2023-2024: 2 wins and 3 draws in 5 games in Serie A;
Season 2022-2023: it was not lacking at all;
Season 2021-2022: 3 wins in 3 Serie A games;
Season 2020-2021: it was not lacking at all;
Season 2019-2020: 3 wins in 3 Serie A games;
Season 2018-2019: 7 wins, 1 draw and 3 defeats in 11 Serie A matches plus 2 wins and a loss in 3 Champions League matches.
