Good news for Argentina: Cuti is fit and available | OneFootball

The Argentina national team completed its second training session, and Lionel Scaloni, who already has an idea of the lineup for the friendly against Honduras, received the first big piece of news in La Scaloneta’s bunker in Kansas, courtesy of Cristian Romero. From the long list of injured and “banged-up” players, Cuti was the first to be medically cleared and is now available to the coach, a development that brings relief after his knee injury set off alarm bells more than a month ago.

Although Cuti did not take part in Monday’s tactical session, the AFA made sure to report that he has already returned to training normally with the rest of the squad and, nearly 50 days after the injury to the lateral ligament in his right knee, he is available “from now on.”

Those tears from Romero after his heavy collision with goalkeeper Antonín Kinsky while playing for Tottenham raised concern, but the test results and the excellent recovery carried out by the world champion defender finally put those fears to rest. With the doctors’ OK, starting with this Tuesday’s practice at 8 p.m., the starting center back will step up his workload to regain his touch on the ball and be in top shape for the World Cup opener against Algeria.

And the friendlies? Against Honduras, it is practically a given that he will not be risked, but it is very likely he will get some minutes on Tuesday, June 9 against Iceland, with the aim of arriving match-fit for 6/16, Argentina’s first major target. Otherwise, he will go straight into action at Kansas City Stadium.

Lionel Messi and Leandro Paredes during this Tuesday’s training session. (@Argentina)

The other injured player who has already put his issue behind him is Julián Álvarez, who had finished the season with an ankle sprain at Atlético de Madrid. Internally, it was reported that he has already recovered and is fit to play in the warm-up matches.

With two players cleared in the first training session, today’s afternoon shift was key to closely monitoring the progress of the rest of the injured players, including captain Lionel Messi. Although La Pulga is only dealing with a muscle strain and is not at risk for the opener, all eyes are on whether he will be able to get minutes in any of the friendlies.

According to the AFA, on Tuesday the players began their work in the complex gym under the guidance of the fitness coaches, who designed a series of routines to activate the squad and also prevent injuries.

Meanwhile, in the second part, the team worked on high-intensity tactical drills in a small space. They completed three 15-minute blocks, focusing on various defensive and offensive aspects.

The status of Argentina’s injured players

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