How Alejandro Garnacho could still make Argentina's World Cup squad

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How Alejandro Garnacho could still make Argentina's World Cup squad

Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni has confessed that he may need to change his 26-player World Cup squad because of numerous injuries, with Manchester United's Alejandro Garnacho thought to be in line for a call-up.

Garnacho ended the first half of the domestic season in electric form, scoring in both the Premier League and Europa League while also grabbing two assists in a Carabao Cup comeback against Aston Villa.

Despite calls from United fans, Garnacho did not make Argentina's final squad, but a number of the forwards who were picked ahead of the teenager are not believed to be fully fit.

Paulo Dybala, Nicolas Gonzalez and Alejandro Gomez are carrying injuries and AS report that another forward, Joaquin Correa, has picked up a fresh knock which could well rule him out of the World Cup.

Should Correa, or indeed any others be forced to withdraw, then this report suggests that Garnacho is towards the top of Scaloni's list to replace them.

"There's a possibility that our 26-man list for the World Cup could change," Scaloni confessed. "There are players who are not 100% healthy. We want to be cautious. We want to see their evolution."

Gonzalez is understood to be the biggest fitness concern for Argentina. The Fiorentina winger is dealing with a muscle tear which he picked up on October 22 and he failed to make the matchday squad for Wednesday's friendly against the United Arab Emirates.

Teams have until 24 hours before the first game of the tournament to finalise their selections, so Garnacho will know what his immediate future holds by November 21.

At club level, 90min understands that United are confident of thrashing out a new contract for Garnacho.