Marcos Senesi flew into Kansas City on Saturday and joined Argentina's training camp after replacing Leonardo Balerdi, who was ruled out of the World Cup with a muscle injury in his right leg.
Senesi arrived overnight, five days after coach Lionel Scaloni began weighing up options following Balerdi's injury, and had only a few hours to recover from the flight before joining a morning session. The call-up restored Scaloni to a full complement of players in Kansas City once the defender reported.
At the airport, Senesi said he wanted to send his best wishes to Balerdi and described the switch as a difficult situation for the injured player. He added that he was very happy for the opportunity, had been keeping up his training while on holiday in Ibiza with his girlfriend, English footballer Kelci Rose, and had been waiting to see what would happen until the last moment.
The timing was awkward: Kansas City organisers moved Argentina's planned afternoon training into the morning because severe storms were forecast, compressing the team's final preparations. Senesi, who landed overnight, took part in the earlier session after only a few hours' rest, a quick turnaround that left little time for integration ahead of the opener.
Scaloni had acted five days after Balerdi's injury to bring in fresh defensive cover. Balerdi's muscle problem in his right leg forced the switch, and while the squad is now whole on paper, defensive questions remain—most notably over Nicolás Tagliafico, who has been training separately while managing a calf strain.
The change matters now because Argentina were due to begin their title defence against Algeria at Arrowhead Stadium on Tuesday, and the coaching staff had been using this weekend to finalise selections and tactical details. Bringing Senesi into the camp restores depth, but his overnight arrival and the storm-driven schedule alteration reduced the amount of work he could do with the group ahead of the match.
Scaloni's decision to add Senesi ends the immediate selection scramble created by Balerdi's injury, but it does not settle all concerns in defence. Whether Tagliafico will be fit for Tuesday remains unresolved, and that will be the clearest indicator of how much the last-minute change affects Argentina's backline. The team heads into Arrowhead with its roster complete, but with at least one fitness question that could alter Scaloni's plans on the day of the opener.
