Lautaro withdraws from Argentina squad due to left hamstring injury

The Argentina national team issued a statement on Wednesday confirming that 27-year-old Lautaro Martinez will miss both of this month's World Cup qualifiers due to a left hamstring injury.

Argentina will face Uruguay and Brazil on March 21 and 25 respectively. If they win all the games, they will be able to secure their place in the World Cup. They currently lead the South American standings with 8 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses, accumulating 25 points, 5 points higher than Uruguay behind them.

In the earlier assessment, Lautaro showed some symptoms of muscle fatigue. Argentina originally planned to rest him in the first game and try to return to the game against Brazil on the 25th. However, further examination results showed that the injury was more serious than expected. Lautaro has now set off to return to Milan and will undergo further assessment.

If the injury is confirmed, Lautaro may be out for a longer period of time, which may even affect Inter Milan's Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich. He is also the second Inter Milan striker to be withdrawn from the national team due to injury. Marcus Thuram had previously left the French team early due to an ankle injury.