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Neymar will miss his meeting with Lionel Messi after being ruled out of the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifier against Argentina due to an adductor injury, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) announced.
Brazil – already assured of a Qatar 2022 berth – will meet Argentina in San Juan on Tuesday, with a win for Messi’s men all but guaranteeing World Cup qualification.
After coming off the bench against Uruguay last time out, Messi will definitely play a part for Copa America champions Argentina, according to head coach Lionel Scaloni.
However, Brazil superstar and Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Neymar – who teed up Lucas Paqueta for the winning goal against Colombia – will not be involved because of a thigh injury.
“After training at the Palmeiras Football Academy this Monday morning, athlete Neymar Jr. complained of pain in the adductor region of his left thigh,” the CBF said.
“Neymar Jr. reported insecurity with the situation and because there was not enough time to carry out complementary exams, the technical committee chose to preserve the player, who will not travel with the Brazilian team’s delegation to San Juan, location of Tuesday’s game against Argentina.”
Brazil and Argentina will meet for the first time since September’s World Cup qualifier was sensationally abandoned in Sao Paulo.
The top-of-the-table fixture was halted following an apparent breach of coronavirus regulations, Argentina naming three Premier League players in their starting line-up – Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and Tottenham pair Cristian Romero and Giovani Lo Celso – amid travel restrictions.
Despite the rulings, Martinez, Romero and Lo Celso were all starters for Argentina, with Brazilian health officials quickly acting by entering the pitch shortly after the match had started.
A subsequent melee ensued, and the visitors eventually left the field and did not return, Brazil playing out a training fixture among one another.
Looking ahead to Tuesday’s showdown, Brazil head coach Tite told reporters: “It is hard to get the dimension of it. I don’t know how it was from the Argentinian side of it. Everything that happened. I am sorry about the fact that the match didn’t happen.
“But now we have all the facts and understand why it didn’t happen. I have all this very clear: before football, health is more important, laws exist and the correction of the facts. All these happened. I don’t know how they face this situation because it is very particular.
“I can say that Brazil v Argentina is a huge match. Historically, it is huge. A lot of quality on both sides. The two best campaigns, a lot of technical quality individually from both teams.”
