The World Cup causes a problem for Atletico's Super Cup squad Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid Los Rojiblancos could play without many stars

Atletico Madrid still have several stars in the final rounds of the World Cup but this means that Diego Simeone will be without some of his best players for the UEFA Super Cup on 15 August against Real Madrid.

There are still seven Atletico players remaining at the quarter-final stage of the tournament; Lucas Hernandez, Thomas Lemar and Antoine Griezmann for France; Jose Gimenez and Diego Godin for Uruguay; Sime Vrsaljko for Croatia; and Filipe Luis for Brazil.

The return of each player to pre-season training is unique for Atletico, with Oscar 'Profe' Ortega deciding on the date they arrive back, depending not only on when they were knocked out in Russia but also on the number of minutes played.

It is understood that their three players from the Spain squad; Koke, Diego Costa and Saul Niguez, who did not play at the World Cup but featured in 56 games for Los Rojiblancos last season, will return to training on July 26, so they will not be on the tour in Singapore.

For those players still at the World Cup, they will need three weeks of holiday and 20 days of work before playing in a competitive game, which makes it tough for those wanting to play in the Super Cup on August 15. Most likely, those players who make it through to the semi-finals will not be ready in time for the Super Cup.

The Uruguay-France match on Friday is crucial for Atletico's defence and their attack. If France win, Simeone will be unable to count on Lucas but if Uruguay go on to the semi-final, he will be without Godin and Gimenez.

In attack, a France victory could mean that arguably Atletico's most dangerous attacker, Antoine Griezmann, may be out of the Super Cup in Tallinn while Lemar would have to wait a little longer to make his debut for his new team.