Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni is refusing to rule out playing Alexis Mac Allister against Venezuela on Thursday night despite the Liverpool star being unable to take a full part in training.
The midfielder limped off injured against Crystal Palace last Saturday and has been working alone since linking up with Argentina - but Scaloni retains hope of him featuring while vowing to “take care” of the player.
Yet any risk of Mac Allister aggravating the groin issue picked up at Selhurst Park will go down badly at Anfield.
"He is training separately,” Scaloni said. “We'll see if he makes it to the first game. For now, he hasn't been able to join us, and, well, we'll make the decision if he's part of the squad or on the bench or if he plays on Thursday.
“But it's difficult for him to make it today. I think we have to take care of him. He's a guy who has a lot of games under his belt and that's the situation today. We hope we don't lose any more players because the situation can change later."
Liverpool boss Arne Slot initially cast doubt on whether Mac Allister, who was added to the squad's leadership group this summer, would be allowed to report for international duty.
After the 1-0 win at Palace that kept the Reds top of the table, Slot said: “How bad it is, that’s difficult for me to judge at this moment. He could have continued playing as you saw because it didn’t happen one second before half-time.
“But he felt it a bit too much and said he doesn’t think it’s too good to keep on playing because you never know, he might make it worse. What is the exact situation – can he go to Argentina, can he go and play over there?
"That’s difficult for me to tell you now. His injury is in the groin area.”
Scaloni did deliver a positive update on Lionel Messi, however, confirming that the veteran star will be fit to take on Venezuela.
"Leo is fine," Scaloni said. "He played several games before coming here. That's what he needed. He is fit and will be part of the team."
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