Barcelona's Thomas Vermaelen suffers calf injury vs. Atletico Madrid

Barcelona centre-back Thomas Vermaelen suffered a left calf injury during the 2-1 win over Atletico Madrid on Saturday, the club confirmed in a statement.

Jeremy Mathieu replaced Vermaelan in the 27th minute as the Belgian immediately pulled up with a grimace. Vermaelen limped to the touchline and went straight down the tunnel.

He played just one league game last season following his transfer from Arsenal. He was sidelined for the majority of 2014-15 with a recurring hamstring problem that required surgery in December.

"You come to a new club and want to prove your worth, but you can't because of an injury. And I had to adapt to new things," Vermaelen told the club's official website earlier this week. "A new life, new coach, new city. It was tough."

But this season started on a better note: he made the starting XI in all three La Liga matches thus far - even scoring.