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La Albiceleste have kicked off preparations as they chase back-to-back World Cup titles. With all squad members assembled, Argentina held their first training session in Kansas City at the Compass Minerals National Performance Center. Dozens of fans gathered by the venue entrance, and the site together with Origin Hotel was decked out in Argentina’s iconic light blue and white colours. On the pitch, Lionel Scaloni monitored the fitness of injured players, focusing closely on number 10 Lionel Messi, who linked up with the national delegation on Sunday evening and completed individual training away from the rest of the squad as expected.
Such split training was pre-planned and set to continue over the coming days. Detailed official medical reports confirm Messi has battled persistent inflammation in his left hamstring dating back to May 24, an issue stemming from fatigue caused by excessive physical workload. Alongside nine other injured teammates, he follows a twice-daily rehabilitation schedule to reach peak fitness ahead of Argentina’s World Cup group opener against Algeria on June 16. He is almost ruled out of the friendly versus Honduras this Saturday though a possible unused substitute spot remains open, and his availability for a brief minutes-long appearance against Iceland three days later hangs on his recovery progress.
Rest, carefully graded incremental training and patient recuperation mark Messi’s rehabilitation programme, which is overseen round-the-clock by physiologist Luis García and fitness coach Luis Martín. The player has 24 full days of recovery ahead to get fully fit for his pivotal opening World Cup fixture.
Near Messi, Emiliano Martínez also trained separately during the afternoon session that kicked off at 18:00 local Kansas time, equivalent to 20:00 Argentina time. The goalkeeper fractured the ring finger on his right hand twelve days ago and cannot undertake position-specific goalkeeping drills pending bone healing. Set to miss both upcoming warm-up friendlies, the coaching staff aim to have him match-fit in time to face Algeria.
Several other Argentina players completed isolated training away from the main group: Cristian Romero (lateral right knee ligament injury), Leandro Paredes (posterior right thigh muscle strain), Gonzalo Montiel (left quadriceps tear), Nahuel Molina and Nicolás González (both left thigh tears), Nico Paz (external left knee injury), Thiago Almada (muscle overload) and Julián Álvarez (left ankle sprain).
“Overall it was an excellent training session with all players looking sharp,” one insider commented following the team’s maiden workout at their new US training base. Sweltering heat is poised to be a defining factor throughout the World Cup tournament. Even so, Scaloni’s squad have made an encouraging start and sent out plenty of positive signals ahead of the competitive campaign.
