It is a blow for the Argentina of Lionel Messi, who is one of the favorite teams of the Qatari World Cup. Former Parisian Giovani Lo Celso, 26, currently on loan from Tottenham to Villarreal, is out of the next World Cup. Hit in the femoral biceps of the right leg, the Albiceleste midfielder is about to have surgery and will not make the trip to the Gulf in a dozen days.
Exequiel Palacios, the middle of Bayer Leverkusen, holds the rope to replace Lo Celso within the list of 26 players matured by coach Lionel Scaloni.
After various examinations, a final imaging led the doctors to the conclusion that the latter should undergo surgery for a detachment at the insertion of the muscle in the femoral biceps of his right leg. Consequently, the deadlines are now too tight for Lo Celso to be operational at the World Cup.
Once the diagnosis was known, Scaloni, who is already in Doha, had a chat with the player and agreed that it was best for him to recover normally, without taking more risks trying to be at the World Cup at all. price.
Scaloni, during a brief stay in Argentina before winning Qatar, had been very clear when discussing the health of the footballer with the interested party: “I told Lo Celso that health came first. We are not going to take an abnormal risk. That I in any case, I would not take any risk with his health. »
Much appreciated by his teammates in the selection, Lo Celso is a centerpiece of the Argentine midfield in which he forms a trident with Leandro Paredes and Rodrigo De Paul. He is one of those who played the most under Scaloni and notably shone during the Copa America victory.
The Villarreal player is also Lionel Messi’s best ball provider, with nine assists for the Parisian. Lo Celso is cursed with the World Cup, he who had spent the 2018 edition on the bench, shunned by Jorge Sampaoli.