Club Atlético River Plate is dealing with a double injury blow following their 1-2 defeat to Huracán, with muscular issues forcing Thiago Almada and Tobías Andrada off the pitch early in the match. The result leaves the team seventh in the Liga Profesional Argentina with 13 points, overshadowed by the premature exits and an early concession in the ninth minute.
Thiago Almada, a World Cup winner in 2022, felt a muscular discomfort after just four minutes of play and was replaced by Lucas Beltrán. The midfielder had just been called up by Lionel Scaloni for Argentina's upcoming FIFA friendlies against Bolivia, Burkina Faso, and Benin, the latter scheduled as Lionel Messi's farewell appearance in the country. The club's medical report has not yet provided a recovery timeline, casting doubt on his availability for those fixtures.
The SportsCenter account on X highlighted the swiftness of the incident: "Tan solo 4' PT y LE TIRÓ A THIAGO ALMADA.".
More tears on the bench
The misfortune repeated itself half an hour later. Tobías Andrada, who had also received his national team call-up that very day, felt a physical problem in the 35th minute and asked to be substituted. The young midfielder left the field with his team trailing and, visibly emotional, broke down in tears on the bench. "JUSTO EN EL DÍA EN QUE FUE CONVOCADO A LA SELECCIÓN ARGENTINA POR SCALONI." noted the same source.
With the team already weakened, Huracán capitalized. Oscar Cortés scored from a free-kick in the ninth minute to make it 0-1, a goal that River, under coach Leonardo Ponzio, could not overturn despite Tomás Galván's second-half strike. Lucas Blondel sealed the visitors' victory in the 80th minute.
The injuries to two key midfield pieces force a tactical re-think ahead of the next challenge. River will visit second-placed Sarmiento Junín on October 4th, in a key match to avoid losing more ground in the title race, where they already trail the leaders by five points. The absence of Almada, who scored the winner against Atlético Tucumán last week, and Andrada, who had also netted in that match, leaves a significant gap in creative play. The team will have to rely on alternatives like Beltrán and the season's top scorer, Sebastián Driussi, who has six goals. The full squad and their fitness status are available in the squad section. The match against Sarmiento will be the final test before the international break, when the full extent of these injuries will become clear.
More detail at Clarin Deportes
