Lionel Messi, captain of the Argentine National Team, was ruled out for this Saturday’s match against Peru for the Copa América, due to a muscle injury, confirmed today Walter Samuel, one of coach Lionel Scaloni’s assistants.
“He had a problem in the last game, Leo is not going to be there, we are going to go day by day waiting for his evolution,” said Samuel, who replaced Scaloni in the press conference after the suspension imposed by Conmebol on the head coach.
Messi suffered a muscle problem during the match against Chile last Tuesday, although he was able to complete the 90 minutes. In any case, and as a precaution, the coaching staff decided to preserve it with the quarterfinals in mind, given that the team has already qualified for the second round of the competition being held in the United States.
“We’re taking it one game at a time. We’re not planning to save anyone. We’re thinking about putting together the best team to play well against Peru and win,” Samuel added.
Meanwhile, Scaloni was unable to attend the press conference and will not be able to coach the team tomorrow as he was suspended for one match for having delayed the return of the national team after half-time in the match against Chile.
“He’s a little bitter,” Samuel confided when referring to Scaloni, who will have to watch the game against the Peruvian team from the stands of the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
Despite this setback and the absence of Messi, the Argentine team would line up with Emiliano Martinez; Gonzalo Montiel, Nicolas Otamendi, German Pezzella and Nicolas Tagliafico; Exequiel Palacios, Leandro Paredes, Valentin Carboni and Angel Di Maria; Lautaro Martinez and Alejandro Garnacho.
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