National team update: staff monitor players hit by Europe's schedule | OneFootball

With the official squad lists of other national teams already announced, Scaloni’s coaching staff is taking its time and evaluating some players, not only because of injuries, but also because of the high level of performance from others who are putting pressure on.

What worries the coach most, and what is making him take more time than usual, is the injured players. He has already accepted the idea that several starters will arrive at the World Cup physically on the edge, some of them even being nursed along. The grueling European schedule took its toll on the squad, and the effects 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, specially traveled to his home in London to oversee a personalized rehabilitation program. At the moment, the defender is being monitored from Córdoba, where he arrived at the start of the week to watch from the stands at the Kempes the Apertura final next Sunday between his beloved Belgrano and River.

Cuti Romero is progressing 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 Madrid. At Atleti, Julián Álvarez had also set off alarm bells during the Champions League semifinal against Arsenal, when a twist to his left ankle left Diego Simeone and Scaloni holding their breath. 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 regretted the left knee bruise that has been bothering Nico Paz at Como since the visit to Hellas Verona, as well as the injury to the ring finger of Emiliano Dibu Martínez’s right hand, just before Aston Villa played the Europa League final, in which they ended up winning the title.

Dibu Martínez suffered a finger injury in the lead-up 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 went 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 the injured players. Scaloni is also closely watching players who keep improving and are making his job harder in a positive way: those who are applying pressure from within with their performances. The standout case right now is Emiliano Buendía, star player and newly crowned Europa League champion with Villa. Asked about his chances of making the World Cup squad, he was brief and mysterious in equal measure: “The national team? We’ll see…”, he replied before taking part in the title celebrations 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 already in 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. They are all pushing. Scaloni is watching, evaluating, and for now, keeping quiet.

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