National team agenda: staff monitor players hit by Europe’s schedule | OneFootball

With other national teams having already unveiled their official squads, Scaloni’s coaching staff is taking a bit more time, assessing several players—not only because of injuries, but also due to the strong performances of some who are putting pressure on for a spot.

What worries the coach most, and what is making him take more time than usual, is the injured players. He has already come to terms with the idea that several starters will arrive at the World Cup physically on the edge, some of them even barely fit. Europe’s grueling schedule has taken its toll on the squad, and the signs are plain to see.

The case requiring the most attention is Cristian Cuti Romero, who is racing against the clock to recover from a lateral ligament injury in his right knee, suffered at Tottenham in mid-April in an accidental collision with his own goalkeeper, Antonín Kinský. The squad’s physiotherapist, Luis García, traveled specifically to his home in London to oversee a personalized rehabilitation plan. At the moment, the defender is being monitored from Córdoba, where he arrived earlier this week to watch from the stands at the Kempes the Apertura final next Sunday between his beloved Belgrano and River.

Cuti Romero is progressing well from his injury with just over a month to go before the World Cup.

Also in the treatment room is Nahuel Molina, who suffered a grade 1 hamstring strain at the end of the season with Atlético de Madrid. At the Colchonero, it was also Julián Álvarez who had set off alarm bells during the Champions League semifinal against Arsenal, when a twist to his left ankle took Diego Simeone’s and Scaloni’s breath away. He now appears to have recovered, although the fear of a relapse never fully goes away.

In addition to the confirmation last Sunday of Gonzalo Montiel’s left quadriceps strain in the middle of River’s match, this week the national team also lamented the bruise to Nico Paz’s left knee that has been troubling him at Como since the visit to Hellas Verona, as well as the injury to the ring finger on Emiliano Dibu Martínez’s right hand, suffered before Aston Villa played the Europa League final, in which they ultimately were crowned champions.

Dibu Martínez suffered an injury to his finger in the buildup to the Europa League final. (Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)

“Today I broke my finger in the warm-up… I’d never had a broken finger before. Every time I caught the ball, it bent the other way. But well, these are things you have to go through”, he admitted on ESPN. This Thursday he will undergo an X-ray to determine the extent of the fracture, although people close to him told TyC Sports that he will have no problem playing in goal at the World Cup.

But not everything revolves around injuries. Scaloni is also closely watching players who keep improving and are making his job harder in a good way: those pushing from within with their performances. The standout case right now is Emiliano Buendía, a key player and newly crowned Europa League champion with Villa. Asked about his chances of making the World Cup squad, he was brief and equally mysterious: “The national team? We’ll see…”, he replied before taking the victory lap in Turkey.

A creative midfielder, previously called up by Scaloni, Buendía is part of the 35-man preliminary list and is one of the dark horses with the best chance. But not the only one. Also in the running are Valentín Barco (with one foot in the squad thanks to his season at Racing Strasbourg and what he showed in the friendlies at the Monumental), Máximo Perrone, Gianluca Prestianni (he would miss the first two matches due to a UEFA suspension extended by FIFA), and Matías Soulé. All of them are pushing. Scaloni watches, evaluates, and for now, remains silent.

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