Lionel Messi Spotted Training Alone For Argentina's Copa America Centenario Game vs. Chile
Argentina's star player Lionel Messi is determined to take the Copa America Centenario title after he was seen practicing alone at his team's camp ahead of their game versus Chile on Monday.
Instead of joining fellow teammates, the 28-year-old forward opted to fine tune his skills by himself as he is also recovering from a back injury, ESPN said. He sustained the injury when Argentina played a friendly game against Honduras last week.
Goal added that the Ballon d'Or holder was knocked at his back, prompting his team to immediately replace him during the match. Many expressed fear that he will not be fit enough for their opening game at Copa.
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His team, however, has announced that his condition has improved for the past days. He managed to work out last Friday before showing up at the Argentine camp on Saturday to practice.
"Lionel Messi and Lucas Biglia trained separately, while Javier Pastore and Ezequiel Lavezzi participated in the group play with a ball and then practiced apart," read a statement from the team as quoted by ESPN. Lavezzi and Pastore are also recovering from muscle tears from past games but are said to be in better condition than the star player of the team.
Argentina coach Gerardo Martino said they are counting on Messi to play for Monday's game since his presence will mean a lot, especially in the match versus powerful Chile. The coach added that he is certain about Messi's dedication to make his team win during this year's Copa America.
Despite showing improvement on his injury, Messi's participation in Monday's game still remains uncertain. But Argentina is not the only team that is worried about one of its players. Chile's Arturo Vidal also sustained a shin injury during an earlier match with Mexico, FourFourTwo noted.
Aside from this concern, Chile is also working on their strategy in their upcoming fight versus Argentina since their form has not been really good and consistent lately. It can be remembered that they lost in their previous four matches. This was mainly attributed to the new leadership of team manager Juan Antonio Pizzi, who replaced Jorge Sampaoli in January.
Even in a difficult position, Pizzi said he is still positive that the goals will come for his team. The manager explained that his players will continue to aim for a win even with how things turned out with their last game versus Mexico.
