Real Madrid winger Angel di Maria is likely to miss the rest of the World Cup because of a thigh injury.
The 26-year-old limped off after just 33 minutes in Argentina’s 1-0 over Belgium and will have further tests on Sunday to explore the extent of the injury. Former Los Blancos froward Gonzalo Higuain scored the only goal of the game as the South American side qualified for the final four for the first time in 24 years.
Although not talking about how serious the injury was, Argentina boss Alejandro Sabella told journalists after the match that di Maria would be a doubt for the semi-final clash against Holland on Wednesday evening. But media reports in Argentina suggested he will miss the rest of the tournament.
“I hope that it won’t be too (bad) in the case of Angel because Angel is vital to us,” he said.
Di Maria had played a part in the lead up to the goal, and had also netted the winner against Switzerland in the last 16 clash earlier this week. During the game with Belgium, he went off holding his right thigh after trying to play through the pain for a few minutes.
Higuain also told journalists at the end of the game that di Maria would be a big loss for Argentina, who are already without Sergio Aguero.
“He’s a key player in this project,” Higuain stated. “I’m really sorry. But we hope that he will be ready as soon as possible because we know what he does for the team.”
