Angel Di Maria's Argentina Injury Scare Comes at the Worst Possible Time for PSG
Paris Saint-Germain and Argentina have suffered an injury scare after Angel Di Maria was forced off after just 31 minutes of La Albiceleste’s 2-0 FIFA 2018 World Cup qualifying win over Bolivia in Cordoba on Tuesday.
Gerardo Martino’s men had already scored both of their goals by the time El Fideo made his way off the pitch at Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes with what looked like a shin problem, so they were able to cope with his absence for the remainder of the match.
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The 53-year-old manager will be hoping that Di Maria—one of his key players—will be fit and available again for this summer’s centennial Copa America in the United States, though.
The real losers in this situation are potentially the 28-year-old’s club side, PSG. The French champions are entering into their busiest—and most decisive—month of the season off the back of this recent international break, and losing a key player to injury was never part of the plan.
Both legs of Les Parisiens’ UEFA Champions League quarter-final against Manchester City are coming up in April, as well as a Coupe de France semi-final at FC Lorient and a Coupe de la Ligue final against Lille OSC at the Stade de France.
Di Maria is a key player for Laurent Blanc when everyone is fit, so the former Manchester United, Real Madrid and SL Benfica man is of even greater importance to Le President during a hectic schedule that will give PSG’s strength in depth the sternest of tests.
If the French capital outfit’s in-form Argentinian is out for even just a few weeks, then Blanc’s domestic and continental plans will have taken a hit.
With Marco Verratti already likely to be missing for at least another few weeks as he continues to recover from a troublesome pubalgia issue, the Ligue 1 champions could feasibly be without the Italy international and Di Maria—two indispensable figures when fit—for a large part of April.
Making matters worse, the injury to the man from Rosario has come hot on the heels of criticism of PSG from Argentina coach Martino because of their failure to rest Di Maria for the 2-0 home defeat to AS Monaco just before the international break.
Speaking in a press conference before the 2-1 World Cup qualifying win in Chile last Thursday, the former Barcelona boss expressed his anger at the French giants.
According to France Football (h/t ESPN FC’s Mark Rodden), Martino believes PSG failed to return the favour they provided by not calling up a recovering Di Maria when he first arrived in Paris.
"I'm angry with PSG who didn't respond in the same way as us when a player, as was with the case with Di Maria, should be kept in reserve.
We suggested to them that it wasn't necessary for him to play in Sunday's game given that the club are already champions.
In the past when we understood that it was better for Di Maria to stay in Paris, we didn't pick him. In turn, we would have liked PSG to understand our needs.
"
With Di Maria now potentially out for a significant length of time, Blanc and Les Parisiens will be anxiously awaiting the results of the Argentina international’s medical tests when he returns to the French capital.
This time, it will be Le President and his Qatari employers’ turn to be angry towards Martino and La Albiceleste for damaging one of their most important assets ahead of a key run of fixtures.
Considering the draining journey he will make from Argentina back to France, Di Maria was always likely to miss Saturday’s home Ligue 1 clash with OGC Nice anyway.
However, even the slightest need for rest may well see him ruled out for the visit of Manchester City in the Champions League next Wednesday. After that, the matches against EA Guingamp, Caen, Lorient and Lille OSC could all be under threat, as well as—most importantly—the return leg against City.
It will be a nervous next few days in Paris as they wait to discover the full extent of Di Maria’s injury.
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