Defender Lisandro Martinez has been ruled out of Argentina's World Cup qualifying squad due to injury. Argentina will not get the Manchester United star in the next two matches of the World Cup qualifiers. Lance defender Facundo Medina has been called up as his replacement. The Argentine Football Association (AFA) confirmed the matter yesterday.
Martinez was injured in the match against Leicester City in the Premier League last Sunday. The 26-year-old centre-back played full time in Man U's 3-0 win. Neither the club nor the national team said what kind of injury he is suffering from. However, international media and football reporter Gaston Edul said that Martinez has injured his knee. He is not fit to play at the moment.
Medina, who got a chance to replace Martinez, has played three matches for Argentina so far. Of these, the 25-year-old defender was in the starting XI in one.
Argentina will play the 2026 World Cup qualifying match in Paraguay next Friday at 5:30 am Bangladesh time. Five days later, Lionel Scaloni's team will play against Peru at home. Argentina is at the top with 22 points from 10 matches in the qualifying round of the South American region, with seven wins, two losses and one draw. Paraguay is number six with 13 points in the same match.
