Huge blow for Scaloni: Leonardo Balerdi tears muscle, World Cup doubt | OneFootball

The Olympique Marseille defender was injured during training this Friday, and in the coming hours Scaloni will have to decide whether to keep him in the squad or leave him out and look for a replacement. If he is left out, his substitute must come from the preliminary list of 55 players: Bournemouth’s Marcos Senesi from Entre Ríos or River’s Lucas Martínez Quarta are emerging as possible replacements.

In Argentina’s final training session before tonight’s friendly against Honduras, Leonardo Balerdi suffered a muscle tear and his presence at the World Cup is now seriously in doubt. The Olympique Marseille center-back was unable to finish last night’s practice, and tests confirmed the extent of the injury: he will need at least 21 days to recover. Lionel Scaloni must decide whether to keep him in the squad or leave him out and call up a replacement from the preliminary list of 55 players.

Just days before the World Cup debut (on 6/16 against Algeria), the main concern is getting injured players fit again, fine-tuning the team’s play and, above all, avoiding any new absences. That is why the situation involving the 27-year-old center-back was a blow to the squad, which in Qatar experienced similar situations, although with players who had already arrived carrying injuries (Joaquín Correa and Nicolás González).

The former Boca player had arrived as an option at center-back, as a possible replacement for Cristian Romero (who is coming off a knee injury) after a very good season in France’s Ligue 1. On the rise and increasingly present in Scaloni’s call-ups, he had earned a place in the list of 26 and was ready to face his first World Cup.

The muscle tear suffered last night leaves him in a very difficult position, since a three-week recovery would only allow him to be available just in time for the match against Jordan, in the third and final round of the group stage, on June 27. That is why Scaloni and his coaching staff will have to make a decision in the coming hours in order to determine which center-backs they will rely on for the opening matches of the World Cup.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.