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Argentina's national team are preparing to defend their World Cup. The October international break sees the CONMEBOL qualifiers begin on Thursday, October 12. The reigning world champions will play against Paraguay and Peru.
Lionel Scaloni announced the list of the players who have been called-up on Thursday. There are three absences that are surprising, however, they are injured players as Lisandro Martínez, Angel Di Maria and Angel Correa will miss out.
It was also in doubt whether Lionel Messi would opt to rest, as he is carrying an injury that has kept him out of recent MLS games.
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In the end, he has made the decision to travel with the team, along with his trainer. According to TyC Sports, the Inter Miami player will try to play some minutes on the weekend against Cincinnati.
What happened to Messi?
During the match against Toronto, the Argentine asked to be substituted in the 37th minute.
There was speculation that it could be a muscle injury, as he struggled to get to the ball during the last play he made. However, Tata Martino confirmed that it is a carry-over from an old injury.
"It is the scar that is at risk of opening and we would be in a much more serious problem if that happened. It is in the posterior," he clarified a couple of days ago.