The coach the Argentinian national team, Jorge Sampaoli was asked in a his press conference about the situation surrounding the absence of Inter captain Mauro Icardi which has been the subject of much speculation.
“To clarify, I can say I have received a call from Mauro. He informed me about his injury and told me it was due to a blow he received in the last game that caused him pain. The problematic thing about his absence is the failure to see him against Russia or the one after against Nigeria, something that will also happen to people like Lucas Biglia and Gonzalo Acuna.”
Sampaoli also responded to a question why Icardi did not come to train with the team at least: “He could have reached us here in Russia, but Inter decided to keep hold of him and make him recover as he is not in a state to play, and the club felt it necessary to make this decision for the footballer. I couldn’t tell him to come and join us, but this also happened with Biglia, Acuna and Mercado. I understand that Mauro’s situation was more hyped by the media, but I found it a bit unfair not to evaluate the cases in the same way.”
