Lionel Messi has progressed in his injury recovery and could feature for some minutes for Argentina in their next friendlies ahead of the World Cup start, coach Lionel Scaloni said on Friday.
“Leo is doing well, he has already trained partly with the group, he’s no longer completely separated,” said Scaloni. “Maybe he’ll get a few minutes in the friendlies. “We’ll see if that’s tomorrow’s game or the other one.”
Defending World Cup winner Argentina will play Honduras at College Station, Texas, on Saturday and Iceland on Tuesday in Auburn, Alabama.
He’s lot better and that gives us piece of mind,” Scaloni said.
The Argentine national team’s medical staff has a lot of work, starting with its star Messi, who had a strain in his left hamstring in Inter Miami’s last match and was not expected to play against Honduras.
Scaloni also said Atletico Madrid goalie Juan Musso will start against Honduras at Kyle Field, deputising for Emiliano Martinez, his first-choice keeper who suffered a fracture in the ring finger of his right hand during the warm-up for the Europa League final.
The team’s medical staff have decided to sit him out of both friendlies, although Martinez should be available for the opening against Algeria.
Scaloni will also give minutes to debutant Santiago Beltran, the promising River Plate custodian brought up for the friendly.
Right backs Nahuel Molina and Gonzalo Montiel are on the mend from muscle tears, and the coaching staff has summoned Agustin Giay and Nicolas Capaldo to take their places in the friendly.
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Centre-back Cristian Romero has rejoined the group in training after a knee sprain picked up in April but comes in without match fitness.
Scaloni will have to decide whether to give him minutes or wait for a few more days. Another case under consideration is Nicolas Paz who is training separately after a major knock to his knee.
He will be cutting it tight for his World Cup debut after being ruled out of the Honduras encounter. Leandro Paredes and Julian Alvarez both came to Argentina’s training in Kansas with physical difficulties. They are getting better but whether they will get any game time in the warm-up matches is unclear.
“The situation is getting better,” remarked Scaloni. “They’re alright and we don’t want to put them in these games and the idea is obviously that they (the injured players) are not going to play in these friendlies.
“It’s not that one (vs Honduras), for sure,” he added. “In the second one, there’s a chance one of them could play.
“We will see exactly where we are in the next week,” said Scaloni.
“For now everything is going pretty well and we’ll see next week,” he said.
Argentina will open their World Cup campaign against Algeria on June 16 in Kansas City.