Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni confirmed on Monday that he won’t know the extent of the knee injury to center-back Cristian “Cuti” Romero until after team doctors complete tests.
Romero left the game in the 57th minute after going down with an apparent knee injury and was replaced by Nicolás Otamendi in Argentina’s 2-0 win over Austria in World Cup Group J play.
Argentina advanced to the knockout round by winning their first two group games, with Lionel Messi scoring all five of the team’s goals so far in his sixth World Cup.
Scaloni confirmed that medical tests on Romero would be conducted between Tuesday and Wednesday.
“We don’t know the extent of the issue. It is, of course, something he had already been dealing with,” he said.
“Let’s hope it’s nothing, not just because he is an important player. Even if he isn’t there, whoever steps in will do a good job, but it is always better to have everyone available.
“We don’t know yet. He’ll undergo tests tomorrow or the day after,” the coach said in the post-match news conference.
The Tottenham defender was first injured in mid-April and those initial tests done by the club showed an injury to his knee ligament. He subsequently missed the last six games of the Premier League season.
According to reports in Argentina, Romero felt pain in the same knee during Monday’s match and will not play vs. Jordan in order to rest a few days.
