ARGENTINA have been dealt a major blow ahead of the World Cup as Angel Di Maria suffered a hamstring injury.
The winger was forced off the pitch as his Juventus side lost 2-0 to Maccabi Haifa in the Champions League.
Di Maria is 34-years-old but still producing on the big stage and has three assists in four games in Europe this season.
He is a key part of the Argentina side and even scored the winner in last year’s Copa America final win over Brazil.
And the former Manchester United star has not tasted defeat with his country since March 2019.
But a hamstring injury means Di Maria is at risk of missing the World Cup as he could be out of action for several weeks, if not months.
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To make matters worse for Argentina, another key player Paulo Dybala picked up a freak injury taking a penalty in the 2-1 win over Lecce.
Dybala picked up a muscle injury taking the spot-kick and the forward could now miss the World Cup.
The 28-year-old was in tears as he walked off and his manager Jose Mourinho delivered bad news after half-time.
He said: “The injury looks very bad. I’d say bad, but honestly after speaking with Paulo… I think very bad”.
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Dybala is now expected to have medical checks on Monday, less than seven weeks before the World Cup starts in Qatar.
Argentina are one of the favourites to win the World Cup having not lost in 35 games, while Lionel Messi has also found form for club and country with 12 goals this season.
But for Di Maria it has been a bad few days after his house in Turin was burgled while he was at home with his family and team-mate Dusan Vlahovic.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
