-
Why Lionel Messi did not participate in Argentina’s training on Thursday before the World Cup final?
The rest of the Argentina team trained on Thursday without Lionel Messi, but the 35-year-old participated in an indoor recovery session with the players who took the field against Croatia on Tuesday.
Hundreds of photographers turned up at Argentina’s training base at Qatar University as around 13 players were put through their paces in the balmy evening heat in Doha.
But Messi was not among them, nor did he join the six starters who watched the session from the sidelines, sparking concerns that he might be nursing a thigh injury after clutching his left hamstring throughout the match against Croatia.
RELATED:
- Szymon Marciniak appointed as the referee for 2022 World Cup final.
- Deschamps claims France will do ‘everything humanly possible’ to stop Messi winning World Cup
- Players with most Man of the Match awards in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
But, according to Argentine newspaper Clarin, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner has no injury issues ahead of Sunday’s final and his left hamstring is fine.
Messi was inside working on his rehabilitation in the gym together with the rest of Tuesday’s starting lineup, as well as Papu Gomez and Lautaro Martinez. The entire team had been granted the day off on Wednesday.
Argentina has no qualms about Messi competing in Sunday’s championship game at the Lusail Stadium because he is anticipated to be back working with the ball on the practice fields on Friday.
Currently, Angel Di Maria has proclaimed himself fit enough to start, leaving only Gomez’s ankle ailment as Argentina’s main injury concern after he rolled it against Australia in the round of 16.