It looks like Lisandro Martinez and Tottenham’s Cristian Romero are experiencing some issues with joining the Argentina national team ahead of fixtures against Honduras and Jamaica.
The two players are expected to be mainstays in the side by the time this winter’s World Cup kicks off but ahead of the final rehearsal, neither player has been able to link up with the camp, according to reports.
That’s according to TyC Sports, via Sport Witness, who explain that Martinez and Romero have not made the long trip to South America yet due to authorisation issues.
The first game against Honduras will be played in the United States and both players need to obtain visas to enter the country but as per the report, the process to obtain these permits have been complicated due to the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.
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Her Majesty’s tragic passing has affected football domestically as well, with United’s fixtures against Crystal Palace and Leeds United postponed.
Instead of travelling to the United States, Martinez is said to have flown to Argentina as the Argentinian FA are hopeful of resolving this issue imminently.
SN’s verdict…
Travelling can be taxing on the body and as revealed earlier this week, a dozen United players and staff have already been hit by illness after the long flights to and from Moldova.
International breaks are always challenging for players outside of Europa and Martinez will hope to have this issue resolved as soon as possible.
In the past, players from South America have returned late from international duty and thus missed the first game back. In this case, that would be disastrous for United, who face Manchester City in 12 days.
Martinez is already one of the first names on Erik ten Hag’s teamsheet and there’s not a like-for-like replacement internally.
