adminÁNGEL DI MARÍA’s World Cup finals appear to be over after the winger tore a right thigh muscle during the first half of Argentina’s quarter-final victory over Belgium, an injury which is expected to sideline him for the remainder of the tournament.
Di María suffered the tear when mustering a shot, which was blocked by Vincent Kompany, with his team leading 1-0 in Brasilia. He received treatment on the pitch and attempted to play on, but crumpled back to the turf moments later before hobbling away in tears to be replaced by Enzo Pérez.
The Argentina manager, Alejandro Sabella, initially expressed hopes the injury would not prove too serious during his post-match media briefings, claiming the 26-year-old would undergo scans on their return to the team’s base near Belo Horizonte yesterday.
However, the severity of the tear became clearer over the course of the evening with media in Argentina reporting the Real Madrid player, who had scored the team’s late winner against Switzerland in the round of 16, was now resigned to missing the remainder of the finals. An official announcement was expected yesterday confirming the extent of Di Maria’s injury, with La Albiceleste to miss him in Wednesday’s semi-final, their first in 24 years, in São Paulo. — The Guardian
derick.khumalo