Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone says Antoine Griezmann won't face Athletic Bilbao in tonight's Copa del Rey semifinal.

Griezmann is recovering from an injury and Simeone says his striker needs to rest.

He said: "No, he is not going to participate in the game, we need him to recover well, he made a great effort to be available and with the peace of mind that the players who do so in his place will be in the best way.

"You don't have to look too hard when a semifinal is ahead, the boys have the hope of doing it in the best way, with the responsibility of knowing that we have a great rival in front of us, it will be hard.

"It doesn't change anything for me because I didn't imagine having him for this game, beyond the great effort he made to be with the group, I already had other situations in mind."

He added, "Reaching a final is always very nice for the fans and the club, not to mention for the players. There will be a great atmosphere as the people of Bilbao are used to. We do not expect another match that is not intense, with a lot of aggressiveness at the beginning of the game like they do when they play at home."