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Argentina unsure on Sergio Agüero but deny his World Cup is over World Cup 2014: Argentina’s Sergio Agüero to miss Swiss match with injury
(about 1 hour later)
Argentina were sweating over the fitness of the Manchester City striker Sergio Agüero on Thursday night, with doubts over whether the 26-year-old will play any further part at the World Cup. The Argentina striker Sergio Agüero will miss the last-16 clash with Switzerland after suffering a muscle injury in his left leg and could be out of the World Cup should they progress.
Agüero limped off the pitch in the first half of Argentina’s 3-2 win over Nigeria on Wednesday, with the coach, Alejandro Sabella, revealing afterwards that he was substituted because of a muscle problem. Agüero’s injury in the 3-2 victory over Nigeria on Wednesday is a major blow to the South Americans’ campaign to capture a third World Cup, this time on the soil of their great rivals Brazil.
The newspaper Clarín reported that he had already been ruled out of the tournament because of a torn thigh muscle, but the Argentina spokesman Andres Ventura said no decision would be made until medical examinations had been completed. The team doctor, Daniel Martinez, told reporters the 26-year-old was undergoing magnetic resonance and other urgent treatments at the team’s camp in Belo Horizonte. “We have all the resources available to progress as quickly as possible,” he said. “He won’t be ready for the Switzerland game, and from there we’ll check his evolution day by day.”
“It has not been confirmed that it is a tear, it could be a strain,” said Ventura. “It is a muscle injury, as Sabella already said after the match. To go from that to saying that he might not be able to play again in the World Cup is nonsense.” Other sources close to the team said Agüero would almost certainly also be out for further games if Argentina progress.
A simple strain could leave Agüero on the sidelines for around 10 days, but a tear would probably keep him out for around two to three weeks. He endured an injury-affected season with City, starting just 20 Premier League games, and has not produced his best form so far at the World Cup. The Manchester City forward, part of Argentina’s so-called Fab Four of strikers, was taken off during the first half of the match against Nigeria that gave them top spot in Group F.
Agüero’s struggles add to Sabella’s concerns in attack. Rodrigo Palacio is recovering from a minor ankle injury and Real Madrid’s Gonzalo Higuaín is only getting back to peak fitness after a spell on the sidelines of his own. Nicknamed Kun after a Japanese cartoon character, Agüero is a close friend of the national team captain, Lionel Messi, and is also the father of Diego Maradona’s first grandson. Argentina play Switzerland in São Paulo on Tuesday.
The win against Nigeria – courtesy of two goals from Lionel Messi and one from Marcos Rojo – took Argentina through to a last-16 tie with Switzerland in São Paulo on Tuesday. Fellow strikers Ezequiel Lavezzi or Rodrigo Palacio could take Agüero’s place.
“We have forwards of the same style as Agüero and others, with a different style, like Lavezzi, who came in and handled himself well on the wings and helped us cover spaces,” the Argentina coach, Alejandro Sabella, said after the Nigeria game, where Lavezzi replaced Agüero.