Argentina Injury News Ahead of England Clash

Cristian Romero and Argentina had a long, gruelling 120 minute game against Switzerland. Despite being forced into extra time, they eventually emerged victorious by a score of 3-1.

However, deep into the game, Cristian Romero was brought off the pitch by Lionel Scaloni to be replaced by Nicolas Otamendi. Upon his substitution, the Tottenham Hotspur man looked absolutely exhausted.

Regardless, outside of fatigue, Romero isn’t thought to have any injuries that will keep him out of the England game. He will certainly need a bit of R&R, but that’s it.

Leandro Paredes

Leandro Paredes’ situation is similar to Romero’s. He, too, was brought after putting in a monumental shift against Switzerland in the quarter-finals.

While he was most certainly very tired upon his disembarkment from the action, no persistent injuries have been reported for the former PSG star.

He will probably need to work even harder against England, though. Chasing the likes of Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice is a completely different story – will he be up to the task?

Facundo Medina

Facundo Medina missed Argentina’s last 16 game against Egypt, following an injury he suffered in their previous game against underdogs Cape Verde.

Despite being cleared to play in the game against Switzerland, he was not named in the starting XI, nor was he brought on as a substitute at any point.

He was on the bench, though. This would indicate that he is back to full fitness, or at very least is getting close to a clean bill of health.

Rodrigo De Paul

The most recent of Argentina’s injury doubts, Argentinian outlet TyC Sports has recently reported that it is ‘possible’ that Rodrigo De Paul might miss out on the game against England.

The report does not shed light onto the nature of his injury. If dropped, he could be replaced by either Nicolás González or Giuliano Simeone or the right wing.

This could have major ramifications for Argentina in more ways than one. De Paul is characterised as Messi’s ‘protector’ on the pitch – without them, the former Barcelona man could be bullied out of the game.

Lionel Messi

This is the big one. Lionel Messi notably suffered a collision with Granit Xhaka during the quarter-finals, leading to the Inter Miami man requiring on-field treatment.

While Messi certainly appeared to be in some sort of discomfort, he managed to see out the full 120 minutes after being seen to by medical staff.

This was thought to be little more than a minor knock. As such, it is highly unlikely that it will keep Messi out of the game against England – just try and stop him.