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.
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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.
That’s what plagued Allegri’s first Milan stint – numerous and repeating injuries with certain players that were perfectly healthy before his arrival.
In fairness, this one is on management. They ran Theo off, who was never injured and signed this guy who always is, with no back up of course. In fact sold Jimenez who would have been ideal for LWB.
Brighton bought a couple of LB’s before getting this guy sold to Milan, bit of a red flag.
The sooner the wheels fall off the better this season, so we may eventually run this club like a football team and not an investment vehicle.
You do remember what Theo played like last few seasons, right?
Theo is a world class player.
Yes his form had not been good, but that is where you trust a good manager to get the best out of the team.
Most of our players were poor last season given the mess management made.
very limited options to cover him. Bartesaghi or someone else from the youth team?
Maybe now Allegri will use 433 because apart from Estupinan, we have no LWB. Bartesaghi is LCD or maybe a LB but never a wingback.
I’m glad we completely gutted our squad depth and hired a manager with a horrible injury record in his first spell here.
Shocker…
Wow, injured again.