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Key Facts
—Argentina, the reigning champions, reached their World Cup camp with as many as nine players carrying knocks.
—Both of their first-choice right-backs, Nahuel Molina and Gonzalo Montiel, were injured at the same time.
—Coach Lionel Scaloni picked both anyway, trusting two players who won the 2022 final.
—Stand-by right-backs Agustín Giay and Nicolás Capaldo travelled with the group in case either fails to recover.
—The latest reports say both trained with the squad and are expected to be fit for the June 16 opener against Algeria.
—Captain Lionel Messi, 38, has been managed carefully with a minor muscle complaint.
Argentina World Cup injuries have produced an unusual sight before the title defence: the world champions nursing not one but both of their specialist right-backs back to fitness, on the same flank, ahead of what is almost certainly Lionel Messi’s last World Cup.
Why these Argentina World Cup injuries are different
Every squad arrives at a World Cup with a few sore players, especially one played straight after a long European season. What makes Argentina’s situation stand out is not the length of the list, reported at as many as nine names, but where the damage landed in defence.
Both of the team’s recognised right-backs were hurt at once. Nahuel Molina, the usual starter, has been recovering from a muscle tear, while Gonzalo Montiel picked up a tear in his right thigh in the closing weeks of the Argentine domestic season, an injury that for a time put his place in real doubt.
For a reader new to the sport, the simple version is this: a right-back is a defender who patrols one whole side of the pitch, and most teams carry two specialists for the role. Argentina went into camp with both of theirs carrying the same type of injury, leaving one flank short of fit, match-ready cover.
Scaloni’s gamble on trust
The coach, Lionel Scaloni, made a revealing choice. Rather than drop one of the injured pair for a fit alternative, he named both Molina and Montiel anyway, betting on two men who were on the pitch when Argentina won the 2022 final.
That trust is not sentimental alone. Montiel scored the decisive penalty in the 2022 final shoot-out and Molina started that match, so both have proved they can deliver on the biggest night, which is why Scaloni was willing to wait on their fitness rather than gamble on someone less tested.
He did hedge, though, sending the standby right-backs Agustín Giay, of Brazil’s Palmeiras, and Nicolás Capaldo with the group, ready to step in if either first-choice failed to come through training, with Capaldo filling the role in early sessions while the pair were eased back. The contrast with the left of the defence was telling, because there Scaloni took no chances at all, leaving out a doubtful Marcos Acuña in favour of fully fit options.
The bigger picture, and Messi
The defence was not the only worry. The list of players being managed has at various points included goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, midfielder Leandro Paredes, and forwards Nicolás González, Julián Álvarez and Nico Paz, each handled case by case at the camp in Kansas City.
Above all there is the captain. Lionel Messi, now 38, was rested with a minor muscle complaint after asking to come off in a warm-up win, the kind of precaution a team takes only with a player it cannot afford to lose at what is widely expected to be his farewell World Cup.
Where it stands now
The good news for Argentina is that the race appears to be going their way. The latest reports from the camp say Molina and Montiel have trained with the rest of the group and are expected to be available for the opening match against Algeria on June 16.
So this is less a crisis than a stress test, a champion side cautiously counting its fit players rather than a team falling apart. Even so, the sight of the title holders nursing a whole flank back to health, days before Messi’s last campaign begins, is a reminder of how fine the margins are at the very top.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Argentina players are injured before the World Cup?
The most significant are right-backs Nahuel Molina and Gonzalo Montiel, both recovering from muscle tears. Others managed at the camp have included Emiliano Martínez, Leandro Paredes, Nicolás González, Julián Álvarez and captain Lionel Messi.
Why is the right-back situation a problem?
Both of Argentina’s specialist right-backs were injured at the same time, leaving one side of the defence short of fit cover. Scaloni picked both rather than replace them, trusting two 2022 World Cup winners.
Will they be fit for the opener?
The latest reports say Molina and Montiel have trained with the group and are expected to be available for Argentina’s first match, against Algeria on June 16. Stand-bys Giay and Capaldo travelled as cover.
How serious is Messi’s injury?
It is described as a minor muscle complaint, managed as a precaution rather than a serious concern, at what is widely expected to be the 38-year-old’s final World Cup.
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