Earps Leaves 'in Transition' Utd Amid PSG Move
June 28 (Reuters) - Argentina will be without talisman Lionel Messi as they head into the final match of Group A against Peru in the Copa America on Saturday.
The eight-times Ballon d'Or winner sustained a thigh injury in Argentina's 1-0 win over Chile.
While he did not participate in Thursday's training, reports suggest he could be fit for Argentina's quarter-final fixture on July 4.
"We will go day-to-day awaiting his evaluation. We also had a matter of overload so in order to avoid questions on that topic, we won't have him for the next match," assistant coach Walter Samuel told reporters on Friday through a translator.
Samuel stood in for head coach Lionel Scaloni at Friday's press conference, as Scaloni is suspended for the Peru match due to Argentina's tardiness after halftime in their two previous matches.
Messi's absence may disappoint fans in Miami, as another sellout was expected.
However, with Argentina already securing a spot in the quarter-finals and looking likely to top the group, precautions are being taken for the Inter Miami star.
Argentina could only lose the top spot to Canada if they suffer a defeat against Peru and Canada clinch a significant victory over Chile.
Argentina are expected to rest several other key players for the Peru match, possibly introducing 19-year-old talents Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United) and Valentin Carboni (Inter Milan) to the field.
"We are not underestimating our opponent," Samuel said. "We are always playing to win."
Peru, on the other hand, need to secure a win against Argentina and hope for Canada to lose to Chile to keep their chances of qualification alive.
Peru's campaign so far has seen them draw 0-0 against Chile and lose 1-0 to Canada, the latter after Miguel Araujo received a red card.
Despite the results, Peru coach Jorge Fossati remains upbeat.
"In the first half, we challenged Canada more than Argentina challenged them and I am talking about Argentina, the current world champions," he said. (Reporting by Field Level Media; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
Photo0jpg 5c051852d95f78ecb539ed9fc4149c35 United States District Of Columbia Washington 290323 Little China Cafehtm 6ee7275191e151c179791ec552d7bddc United States District Of Columbia Washington 290323 Little China Cafehtm Dc17e10da52e36dfdd5e26584c78efae United States District Of Columbia Washington 290323 Little China Cafehtm F3f4c5f70a2eb1250878cdf2427c4dfe United States District Of Columbia Washington 290323 Little China Cafehtm 01bba75741be962bfb9863f62203e412 United States District Of Columbia Washington 290323 Little China Cafehtm 2c75882f8d29575d93c0407f33cb5059 United States District Of Columbia Washington 290323 Little China Cafehtm 2031c169a95c188ebb652a2489c766ae United States District Of Columbia Washington 290323 Little China Cafehtm AF1QipMwkeFYs8cDBRWGhRc3JU3jAspEDiMEVgSN741m=s1024S 20230124224811565445 636510436625834317 MenuImage 636510289646776002 37062 ?auto=compress,format&fit=max&w=1024&h=1024?media Id=108830671760396W 20230124224813312302 1537543133096 W2880 22 L AF1QipPRdt8EtbQKt18qAUDl AvjvZf8b V90BJAbLZ0=s1024?media Id=113465591296904Maxresdefault B71130e7147a80d7ba5b2c96d086a854 Featured V2 0TVQYP0MVCLNI0AZXFPMGNVDPUP4CU2WBGRH2H5MSGRWJXLG 638315195873376297 1235405 ?auto=compress,format&h=1080&w=1920&fit=maxFront 300x225 5aac1b96347e6 Newlittlechina Aeac3260 E09f 436d B6bd 8e222f872cb0 931 Little Canton Chinese Restaurant ?v=1556850349Little China ?media Id=1000634667515398bd767160146527.Y3JvcCwxMTcxLDkxNiwzNzQsMTgy Cropped 20131017 121528 Blogimage ?1434141514Little China Restaurant Karachi