Di Maria is still under evaluation
QATAR 2022
The Argentine wing has a strain injury on his left quadriceps that kept him out of the match against Australia
- EFE
wires
Head coach Lionel Scaloni is evaluating Angel Di Maria after he suffered a strain injury during the match against Poland that kept him out of the game against Australia.
The star from Juventus was the only player who didn’t have a day off on Sunday, the day after Argentina beat Australia 2-1 and earned a spot in the quarterfinals against the Netherlands. Alejandro Papu Gómez, sprained ankle, is another injured player on the list for Argentina.
Di Maria’s presence against the Netherlands next Friday at Lusail Stadium is still in doubt despite his speedy recovery and the physical therapy that he’s gone through. On Sunday, while all of his teammates enjoyed a well-deserved time off, Di Maria stayed behind to do some recovery exercises to get over his injury.
Angel Di Maria, alongside Lionel Messi, is the only player who was in the World Cup Brazil 2014, the last time Argentina faced the Netherlands. The South American side won that semifinal match, but Di Maria couldn’t play due to a muscle injury.
Scaloni’s problems have all gathered in the same area of the field, Papu Gómez, who was chosen to replace Di Maria against Poland, suffered a sprained ankle and will likely miss the next match. Di Maria won’t be in the starting lineup even if he fully recovers.
Lisandro Martinez was tasked with substituting Gómez against Australia. If Di Maria still isn’t ready, then the Manchester United midfielder or Leandro Paredes could be good choices to replace him.
Argentina will go back to training on Monday after taking the day off on Sunday. This time, Scaloni has six days to prepare for the quarterfinal match against the Netherlands on Friday.
