Lionel Messi lift the World Cup again. But it’s not December 18, it doesn’t have the bist nor is it 13,000 kilometers away in the middle of the playing field of the Lusail stadium, venue for the Qatar 2022 final. The scene is set in Núñez, with 84,000 lucky ones, who got their seats in the Monumental. There is one trophy, two trophies, three trophies… There are 26 trophies. No sorry. I’m 25. It’s the one in the big champions party Alejandro Papu Gomez.
What happened to Papu Gomez? This is the question that is repeated in search engines and that forces us to scratch the bottom of the plate to find something that serves to somehow explain the absence beyond the official explanations.
What are the official explanations? The player himself announced it a week ago. “Unfortunately, due to my injury, I will not be able to travel to greet and hug them. It is a great pain and sadness because I would have loved to be there and feel all their love and affection,” wrote Gómez on his official Instagram account.
Sevilla’s Spanish midfielder thanked the fans for the messages and added: “I’m sure we’ll see each other again! I’ll continue to recover here to play again! I embrace you from afar! Enjoy Scaleneta and that wonderful group.” Only the likes of Emiliano Dibu Martínez received the message, and that exit through the networks of the rest of the champions generated intrigue.
The midfielder injured his left ankle with the national team at the World Cup, where he missed the last three matches, in the quarterfinals, semifinals and final which Argentina won, and, back in Seville, an MRI revealed he had “a ‘affection of the deltoid ligament of the right ankle’. His last appearance was against Australia. In that game he started and was replaced after feeling uncomfortable.
This ailment forced him to undergo surgery after trying to avoid surgery and these days he is in the final stages of recovery. It was believed that he could still travel to participate in the celebrations, but in the end the doctors of the Andalusian club ordered him to stay in Spain so as not to alter the deadlines for his return to the playing fields.
His absence attracted attention. For this Lionel Scaloni had to respond on the subject in the press conference that preceded the match against Panama.
“He was coming from an injury and it’s understandable that they don’t let him come, but hey, we’ll do everything we can so that he can stay with us even just for a day or two, but it will depend a lot on his club.” “, he said, leaving an open door. However, Papu did not appear at the Monumental and it seems difficult for him to be present on Tuesday, in Santiago del Estero, against Curaçao.
Word of DePaul
Rodrigo De Paul, one of the leaders of the world champion squad, was one of the few who referred to Papu Gómez’s absence after the party at the Monumental.
“That Ale isn’t there is a blow because he’s part of the group, he was in the Copa América, he was in the Final, he was an important part of the World Cup. But well, Sevilla didn’t let him come,” he began his story.
“He has an injury, Sevilla are fighting relegation and they will definitely want to have him for the last few games. This is part of him, like everyone else. Surely from there he will have celebrated and enjoyed ”, concluded the Motorcito
De Paul, Paredes and Gómez had a cabal before every World Cup game: they would take the field and eat candy before warming up. On Thursday, at the Monumental, Papu was replaced by Lautaro Martínez.
Previously, in a photo that the players republished on social media, the one who had taken Gómez’s place was Paulo Dybala.
Source: Clarin
Jason Root is the go-to source for sports coverage at News Rebeat. With a passion for athletics and an in-depth knowledge of the latest sports trends, Jason provides comprehensive and engaging analysis of the world of sports.