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It had been reported that an ankle problem could keep Lionel Messi out of Argentina’s clash with Paraguay, but Lionel Scaloni says the Barcelona star is “fit and available.”
Argentina’s head coach Lionel Scaloni says Lionel Messi is fit to play in the Albiceleste qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup against Paraguay and Peru.
Messi had been reported to be a doubt for Thursday’s meeting with Paraguay at La Bombonera after reporting to service with an ankle problem.
The six-time Ballon d’Or winner kicked off Barcelona’s 5-2 victory over Real Betis on Saturday among the substitutes, but entered the break and scored two goals.
Messi is “fit and available” despite ankle discomfort, says the Argentine coach
Barca assistant coach Alfred Schreuder said the decision was made because Messi was “not fresh” but Scaloni dismissed concerns about his fitness.
“Leo trained with us normally. He has been experiencing ankle discomfort but it does not prevent him from playing, so for us he is fit and available,” Scaloni said at a press conference on Wednesday.
“We will see if something changes tomorrow, but in principle he is ready to play.
“The truth is that we have had enough problems. We don’t have all the players yet. [Lucas] Martínez Quarta has just arrived and we will see if he can train with the group this afternoon, and the rest of those who trained differently for various reasons, today we hope to see how they are in order to define tomorrow’s team.
“Without a doubt, it was a very unusual selection, the most difficult we have had. It is typical of what we are experiencing with the number of games that are being played and the rush there is. We hope to have them all.”
Di María, PSG forward, returns to the Argentine national team
Ángel Di María returned to the Argentine national team for the first time since last year’s Copa América and Scaloni explained the reason for the Paris Saint-Germain attacker’s absence for the first round of the qualifiers in October.
“We had Nicolás González and [Giovani] Lo Celso, who was injured after being called up. I would have been in favor of summoning Di María, but with everything that was happening it did not seem fair and respectful when he had only arrived for the second game, “said Scaloni.
“This time Nico González had very few minutes, Lo Celso had no rhythm and we thought we were not going to make the mistake of not bringing him back.
“My relationship with him is perfect. We are happy to have him and he is training very well.”
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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