Bad luck with injuries in training
Ex-BVB professional misses the World Cup
June 6, 2026 – 8:17 p.mReading time: 1 min.
Injury scare for Argentina shortly before the World Cup. The world champion has to do without a defender.
Defending champion Argentina has to cope with a defensive failure shortly before the start of the World Cup. Central defender Leonardo Balerdi suffered a muscle injury to his right calf during training in Texas and is out of the tournament. The Argentine association has not yet named a replacement.
The defender has played eleven international matches for Albiceleste so far. Before moving to Marseille, Balerdi spent two years on loan from Boca Juniors to Borussia Dortmund. With a transfer fee of 15.5 million euros, he is one of the ten most expensive defenders in the Dortmund club’s history, but he ultimately only played seven Bundesliga games there.
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For Balerdi, who had already traveled to the USA alongside Lionel Messi and Co., it would have been the first World Cup. Argentina plays one last preparatory game against Honduras in College Station, Texas. The World Cup will take place against Algeria on June 17th. Austria (June 22nd) and World Cup debutant Jordan (June 28th) are also waiting in Group J.