Manchester United goalkeeper Sergio Romero has been ruled out of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia after suffering a knee injury while training with the Argentina squad.
This devastating news comes just one day after the former AZ Alkmaar star was named in Argentina’s 23-man squad for the mundial.
The 31-year-old is the Selección’s first choice goalkeeper and had been picked by manager Jorge Sampaoli alongside Chelsea’s Willy Caballero and Franco Armani.
The Agentine Football Federation broke the news via their official Twitter account on Tuesday evening.
“Sergio Romero suffered today a joint blockage in his right knee that will leave him out of the squad,” the Federation account stated.
River Plate’s Franco Armani is favoured to step up as first choice in the absence of Romero with Nahuel Guzman, earlier named in the 35-man provisional list stepping up to replace Romero in the final list.
Argentina are in Group D of the World Cup tournament alongside African powerhouse Nigeria, Croatia and Iceland. They will open their campaign against Iceland on Saturday, June 16.