4 hours ago
30
Pervis Estupinan did not play last night in Ecuador’s match against Argentina, arousing some worries about his condition.
The left-back was not in the squad at all for the final match of the South American group of qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, which saw Ecuador pull off a bit of a shock win 1-0 against the World Champions, even if both teams had already qualified.
Why the absence?
Estupinan was not called up after being doubtful in recent days due to muscle problems, and now Diario Olé Ecuador (via MilanNews) have provided a bit of a clarification on the situation relating to his fitness.
They write that the ex-Brighton man suffered a muscular overload that prevented him from being 100% fit and – as a precaution – he was not called up for the game, especially with nothing on the line in terms of qualification fate.
Estupinan could have been injured if he had played against Argentina, so the coaching staff decided that he should rest to avoid any risk of making things worse.
The feeling is therefore that any kind of grave issue has been avoided, although the real test will only be when Allegri’s medical staff have personally verified the player’s condition.
Injuries have been a big problem for Estupinan in the past couple of years. Since the start of 2023-24 – as per Transfermarkt – the defender has missed 43 games for club and country combined due to various issues.
Not only that, but three of the four long-term absences (30 days or more) are listed as ‘muscle injuries’ which is why precaution will certainly be welcome from Milan’s perspective.
English (US) ·