Buenos Aires, February 18 (NA) – Argentine forward of Inter Milan, Lautaro Martínez, has raised concerns for the Argentine national team ahead of the 2026 World Cup after he was substituted in Wednesday's match against Bodø/Glimt in the Champions League due to a strong discomfort. According to the Argentine News Agency, the physical ailment would be a muscle tear after the 'nerazzurri's' coach, Christian Chivu, stated that it was 'something serious'. 'El Toro', a forward who came up through Racing, started and played 60 minutes in the Italian team's surprising 3-1 defeat to the Norwegians, before being replaced by Marcus Thuram with signs of pain, but he was jogging, which made the discomfort seem not to be serious. However, the Romanian coach held a press conference after the match and raised alarms in the squad led by Lionel Scaloni, with the World Cup on the horizon. 'We lost Lautaro; he got injured. It's a fairly serious injury,' exclaimed the Inter coach with a concerned look on his face at the loss of his striker. While Martínez still needs to undergo the relevant medical examinations, it is expected that the 'albiceleste' forward will not be available for the return match against Bodo Glimt, which will take place on Tuesday, February 24 at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium, starting at 5:00 PM. Initially, the former Racing player, according to recovery times for this type of injury, would return to the pitch just before Argentina faces Spain in the Finalissima, a match scheduled for late March, so it will be necessary to wait to see if Scaloni decides to count on the forward. But there are other players with problems; we will evaluate them tomorrow.
