Lionel Messi missed a game with his club team Paris Saint Germain (PSG) on Sunday because of an injury. His Achilles tendon, a tendon that goes from the heel of the foot to the back of the knee, was hurt.
Messi is the captain of the Argentina national football team which will play at the FIFA World Cup in less than two weeks.
PSG says that Messi is getting treatment for his Achilles tendon problem and will start training again this week.
The coach of PSG, Christophe Galtier, hopes that Messi will play in their next game on November 13. It will be the last league game before the World Cup begins on November 20.
Angel di Maria and Paulo Dybala, also key players for Argentina, were recently injured, too. The national team is concerned about the players’ fitness.
This World Cup is being held at a different time of the year than previous World Cups. It’s normally played in June or July when many leagues are on break. This year, it’s being held in the middle of the season for many leagues, so more players are injured or worried about injury.
The Qatar 2022 World Cup will be Messi’s fifth and probably last chance to win the World Cup. The last time Argentina won was in 1986.
VOCABULARY
- Club team – a team that plays in a sports league; not a national or Olympic team
- Injury – wound; damage to the body; broken body part
- Tendon – a strong cord/rope that connects a muscle to a bone inside the body
- Heel – the hard, round, back part of a foot
- Captain – the leader of players on a sports field
- Treatment – medical care; surgery; the process of fixing an injury or illness
- Coach – manager; the boss of a team
- Key – important; crucial; major; essential
- Concerned – worried; anxious; troubled; bothered
- Hold – to organize; to arrange; to have an event; host
- Previous – coming or occurring before something else; existing before in time or order; preceding
- League – a group of sports teams or players who play games against each other to see who is best (Most countries have a professional soccer league)
- On break – a pause; a time to rest; recess; to stop for a while
- Season – a time period or time of year when a sport is played;
- Chance – opportunity; possibility;
Original story from Al Jazeera below:
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