Atletico hit by Pablo blow

Atletico Madrid have suffered a fresh injury blow with Spanish international defender Pablo Ibanez having been ruled out for a month.

The imposing centre half was injured in last weekend's goalless draw at Mallorca after sustaining a hefty blow to his back.

Despite being taken off on the hour mark as a precaution, Atletico did not initially believe the injury to be serious.

However, tests have shown damage to both the player's kidney area and vertebrae and he has been ordered to rest for a month to overcome the problem.

The news will come as a major blow to Atletico coach Javier Aguirre with Ibanez a key performer in his side.

Los Rojiblancos have already lost Maxi Rodriguez and Martin Petrov to long-term knee injuries and the Mexican coach has cursed his latest bout of misfortune.

"We have been very unlucky in the last few weeks as Atletico are now missing some key players from their team," Aguirre stated.