Lionel Scaloni has worried the Argentine public with a statement regarding Leo Messi's health ahead of the World Cup. Although the initial information regarding the injury did not seem so bad, the Argentine coach openly admitted that Messi's condition is not good.
Scaloni's statements immediately resonated, because this is the player around whom most of Argentina's ambitions to defend the world title still revolve.
Leo Messi injured his hamstring in his last appearance for Inter Miami, and concerns grew even more after he had to leave the field during the match against Philadelphia Union.
Messi left the game in the 73rd minute of the match after feeling pain after a free kick. According to Inter Miami, it was pain in the back of the thigh caused by muscle fatigue.
Scaloni has now spoken publicly for the first time about the condition of his biggest star, and in doing so, he admitted what many in Argentina did not want to hear.
"The first information is not bad, but...", Scaloni told DSports and added:
"We must now await the development of the situation and additional tests to see if the initial medical assessments are confirmed."
Although Lionel Scaloni believes Leo Messi will be fit for the first match against Algeria on June 16, he made it clear that he does not expect ideal conditions.
"We all wanted Messi to join us fully prepared, but that's not a reality at the moment," Scaloni said worriedly and added:
"He's not the only one, many players are still recovering from injuries. The most important thing for us is to prepare them so that they can welcome the World Cup in the best possible condition."
It was this part of his statement that attracted the most attention, because it shows that Argentina, at least at this moment, cannot rely on Messi at full strength. Although injury does not seem to be the worst possible scenario, the fact that the coach speaks publicly about Leo Messi's lack of readiness is quite strong in itself.
t7 live
