Star midfielder Enzo Fernández was eagerly anticipating his return to the Argentina national team after missing the previous friendlies due to suspension. However, his joy was short-lived. Just a day after being included in Lionel Scaloni’s squad for the final international window of the year, Enzo was sidelined again — this time due to a knee injury sustained during Chelsea’s 3-0 victory over Wolverhampton in the English Premier League.
Enzo Fernández’s Comeback Cut Short by Injury
The Argentine playmaker explained the situation himself, saying,
“𝑭𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒐, 𝑰 𝒊𝒏𝒋𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒎𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚. 𝑰 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝑰 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒆 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏. 𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆.”
According to ESPN, the midfielder’s recovery was hindered by a packed European football schedule, leaving him little time to properly rest and heal.
Prioritizing Recovery Over National Duty
Argentina is set to face Angola in a friendly on November 14, with the squad having been announced three days earlier. Though Enzo was originally named in the team, he has now been ruled out due to worsening pain.
The midfielder revealed,
“𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒌, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒔. 𝑰 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 100% 𝒇𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒋𝒐𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒚 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔.”
While his absence will be felt by Argentina, Chelsea must have him fully fit for the remainder of the season. Enzo confirmed that he would be prioritizing recovery to avoid further complications, adding,
“𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒍𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒏𝒅. 𝑺𝒐 𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒚 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒌𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕.”
Argentina’s Plans Without Enzo Fernández
Argentina will only play one friendly against Angola in the last FIFA window of the year, preceded by a training camp in Spain. The squad features senior stars like Lionel Messi, Rodrigo De Paul, Cristian Romero, Julián Álvarez, and Lautaro Martínez, but excludes local league players to prevent club disruptions.
Despite the setback, Fernández’s recovery remains a top priority for both club and country as Argentina looks ahead to a busy 2026 season.
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