Messi sits out practice

Superstar Argentinian forward Lionel Messi and six other players were noticeably absent from Argentina's training session at the Qatar University premises yesterday.

On Friday, two days after Argentinian footballers Joaquin Correa and Nicolas Gonzalez were sent home due to injuries, head coach Lionel Scaloni appears to be not taking any chances with additional losses and is cocooning star players as a precautionary measure day ahead of the World Cup opening.

Team captain Messi and four other Argentinian national team starters, including midfielders Rodrigo De Paul and Leandro Paredes, defender Nicolas Otamendi and forward Angel di Maria trained separately from the rest of the team and stayed in the gym on Friday, according to the Argentine Football Association (AFA).

Two other Argentinian defenders, Lisandro Martinez and Juan Foyth, also skipped Friday's training camp. The team did not stipulate the exact reasons behind the move, but such injury-prevention techniques are common practice.

La Albiceleste are riding high heading into the 2022 World Cup on the heels of a 35-match win streak. They are slated to play Saudi Arabia on November 22 before facing Mexico on November 26 and Poland on November 30.