According to Lionel Scaloni, the coach of Argentina’s football team, Lionel Messi is still experiencing some negative effects of contracting Covid. During his winter break, Messi had contracted a particularly rough variant of the virus. Although he returned to play for PSG last week in their win over Reims, Messi has only played one match this year. Due to his ongoing recovery, Messi has not been called up for Argentina’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Colombia.
According to Argentina boss Scaloni, Lionel Messi is not fully recovered from Covid-19 despite coming back from the virus. Due to his captain’s health condition, he will be benched for the qualifiers, with Paulo Dybala taking his place in the starting lineup. Scaloni contracted Covid-19 himself and will not travel with the team. In a press conference, he stated that he spoke with Messi after he tested positive for the virus, and it affected him severely. Scaloni believes that it is essential for Messi to recover before joining the team for international duty. Walter Samuel and Roberto Ayala will replace Scaloni for the match as Argentina has already secured a spot in the tournament in Qatar, while Chile is still fighting for qualification.
Scaloni made the decision to leave Messi off the Argentina team roster due to the impact Covid had on him.
According to Scaloni, Messi caught a severe strain of the virus during the winter break in Europe, but fortunately, he has recovered. However, his PCR test results are still showing up as positive. The virus has also impacted the Chilean team, with defender Mauricio Isla, Francisco Sierralta, and winger Jean Meneses all unable to play. Despite this setback, both Brazil and Argentina have already secured their spots in the upcoming World Cup, while two more open slots are still up for grabs in South American qualifying. The fifth-place team will proceed to a playoff against an Asian opponent, and only Venezuela is currently out of contention with seven points.
