“We will do our best in the final week" - Argentina boss eases Lionel Messi injury fears ahead of 2022 FIFA World Cup

Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni has eased injury fears over his captain Lionel Messi ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The showpiece event in Qatar is set to start in a little over a week's time. The concern in question is that Messi was injured earlier in the month. His Achilles problem kept him out of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG)'s 2-1 win against Lorient last weekend.

When asked about Messi's return date and fitness situation, Scaloni said that some players will be rested in the final week of club football as a precaution for the World Cup.

“No player is going to reach 100 percent ahead of the World Cup,” Scaloni said (h/t beIN Sports). “We will do our best in the final week before the tournament to help every player. There are some who will not play the last games [for their clubs] as a precaution, but we know they are fine.”

Messi has been in electric form this season, scoring 12 goals and laying down 14 assists for PSG in 18 games. He has also been in great form for Argentina, scoring nine goals in his last three international outings.

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Lionel Messi playing his last World Cup?

When asked last month if the 2022 World Cup would be Messi's last outing in the quadrennial tournament, the Argentine captain told Star+ (via India Today):

"If it is my last World Cup? Yes, surely yes, surely yes. I feel good physically, I can have a very good pre-season this year that I hadn't done the year before because of how everything went, I started training late, playing without rhythm, with the tournament already started, then I went to the national team, when I came back I had an injury and I never finished starting."

He added:

"I am counting the days for the World Cup, the truth is, there is a little anxiety of wanting it to be now and the nerves of saying well, we're here, what's going to happen, it's the last one, how is it going to go and yes, on the one hand we can't wait for it to arrive and on the other the shit of wanting it to go away fine."

Messi reached the final in 2014 and will hope to go one better this time.