Argentina boss hopeful Lionel Messi will be fit for Japan game
Argentina caretaker boss Sergio Batista today said he is hopeful that star forward Lionel Messi will be fit in time for the national team’s friendly game against Japan next month.
The forward has been ruled out of action for two weeks following a challenge by Atletico Madrid defender Tomas Ujfalusi in Barcelona’s 2-1 win on Sunday. The tackle left Messi with ligament damage to his ankle, although the 23-year-old was lucky not to have
suffered a more serious injury.
The winger’s prognosis means that he is likely to miss games against Sporting Gijon and Athletic Bilbao in La Liga as well as the UEFA Champions League group stage match against Russian side Rubin Kazan. But he should be fit in time to play some part in
Barcelona’s match against Malaga on October 3 — five days before the Japan game.
Squad announcement delayed
As a result of Messi’s injury, Batista has said that he will delay the announcement of his squad for the fixture as long as possible in a bid to allow the FIFA World Player of the Year time to work his way back to full fitness.
According to Spanish daily newspaper Marca, Batista said that, “I talked to Lionel and he wants to play, but we will wait to speak with the doctors, because we will not harm him in any way. We will wait as long as necessary so as not to strain the
relationship with Barcelona, a club which has always behaved very well with Argentina."
Should Messi recover in time to play in the Japan game, it appears likely that he will start the match on the bench. He has been in formidable form so far this season, having scored seven goals in six matches so far for his club. He also found the net in
the 4-1 friendly win over world champions Spain earlier this month.
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