Juventus star Angel Di Maria was withdrawn in the 59th minute of Argentina’s World Cup victory over Poland and was feared to have picked up an injury – but journalist Gaston Edul says that whilst he is not injured, he is a doubt for the next game.
The 34-year-old was substituted after feeling discomfort in his thigh, but Edul has confirmed that there is no muscle injury as first feared.
“Ángel Di María has a contracture (overload). He has no muscle injury. They are going to evaluate it to see if it arrives to start,” Edul tweeted.
The former Real Madrid star was replaced by Juventus teammate Leandro Paredes as Argentina secured their place in the knockout rounds, though this update may yet have an effect on Argentina’s campaign.
TIF Thoughts on Di Maria…
This injury scare will be of some concern to manager Lionel Scaloni, as the winger has been in fine form for his country, making two key passes in each of Argentina’s matches so far as per SofaScore.
If he is sidelined for the knockout match against Australia, Scaloni has options he can turn to in Alejandro Gomez or Julian Alvarez, but we think Di Maria would be a huge loss for a side that initially struggled in the group stage after losing to Saudi Arabia before earning battling victories over Mexico and Poland.
Thankfully, the signs indicate that if Argentina reach the quarter-finals, the Juventus star will be available to return to the team, so perhaps the fact that his issue seems minor and they have been given a kind-looking last-16 game will be good news for Argentina and the Old Lady.