Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.
Leonardo Balerdi will miss Argentina’s World Cup campaign after the Marseille captain sustained a calf injury in a training session.
Balerdi was selected in Lionel Scaloni’s 26-man squad and would have been appearing at his first World Cup, but that dream has been snatched away from him.
Argentina have yet to announce a replacement for the 27-year-old, with the defending world champions taking on Honduras in a pre-tournament friendly on Sunday.
Ten players were included in the preliminary list of defenders, from which Scaloni will have to select one before their Group J campaign begins on June 17 against Algeria.
Marcos Senesi, who left Bournemouth at the end of last season and is reportedly close to sealing a move to Tottenham, was among those players who did not make the squad.
“Leonardo Balerdi suffered a muscle injury in the soleus of his right leg and will not be able to be part of the squad that will play the World Cup,” Argentina said in a statement.
#SelecciónMayor El defensor Leonardo Balerdi sufrió una lesión muscular en el sóleo de su pierna derecha y no podrá ser parte de la nómina que jugará la Copa del Mundo.
¡Ánimo, fuerza y pronta recuperación, flaco! pic.twitter.com/gMZAiS2b2k
— Selección Argentina (@Argentina) June 6, 2026
Balerdi’s withdrawal comes after the defender enjoyed a successful season with Marseille, helping them secure Europa League football for next season.
No Marseille player won more aerial duels than his 72, while only Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (2,002) completed more successful passes for the club in Ligue 1 than Balerdi (1,377).
Agustin Giay, Nicolas Capaldo, Lucas Martinez Quarta, Kevin Mac Allister, Zaid Romero, German Pezzella, Lautaro Di Lollo, Marcos Acuna, and Gabriel Rojas were the other defenders named in Scaloni’s preliminary squad who will be hoping to be selected.
Argentina also take on Iceland in a pre-World Cup friendly before they face Algeria. Austria and Jordan are their other group opponents in North America.
Scaloni’s side are assigned an 10% chance of retaining their crown by the Opta supercomputer, with only England (11%), France (13%) and Spain (16%) better fancied.
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