Ayala out of England game
June 5, 2002
Argentina captain Roberto Ayala has been ruled out of Friday's match with England after failing to recover from the thigh strain he picked up at the weekend.
Onefootball
The centre-back will again be replaced by Bayer Leverkusen defender Diego Placente.
Ayala, 29, injured his right leg as he warmed up before Argentina's 1-0 victory over Nigeria. He was advised to sit out the game as a precaution, but later announced was confident of being in "excellent condition" for the England match.
The Argentina camp revealed on Tuesday, though, that the strain is more serious than first thought and the Valencia defender could also miss the final group match against Sweden.
Rangers striker Claudio Caniggia, meanwhile, is making good progress in his recovery from a knee injury and is likely to be available.
Cristian Gonzalez could also start in attack in place of Claudio Lopez, according to the latest reports from Argentina's training camp in Naraha.
Marcelo Bielsa's team beat Nigeria 1-0 with a header from Gabriel Batistuta to top Group F after England and Sweden drew their opening game