Messi ‘ready to play’ for Argentina, says Scaloni

Photo by Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images

The captain has shrugged off an ankle problem

Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni says Lionel Messi is “ready to play” for the national team ahead of World Cup qualifiers against Peru and Paraguay.

The Barcelona captain started Saturday’s win over Real Betis on the bench and Ronald Koeman said after the match he’d had “a few niggles” since the Dynamo Kiev win.

Scaloni offered an update ahead of Argentina’s next match and said that while Messi has had an ankle issue he is ready to go.

“Leo trained with us normally. He has been experiencing discomfort in his ankle but it does not prevent him from playing, so for us he is fit and available. We’ll see if anything changes tomorrow, but in principle he’s ready to play.”

Source | Goal

First up for Argentina is the visit of Paraguay on Thursday at La Bombonera before a trip to Peru. Scaloni’s side won their first two qualifiers against Bolivia and Ecuador last month.

Source: barcablaugranes.com