Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni has confirmed that Rodrigo De Paul is "fine" and both he and Angel di Maria have returned to training ahead of Friday's World Cup 2022 quarter-final against the Netherlands.
La Albiceleste were handed an injury scare on Wednesday as De Paul was absent from first-team training due to a minor hamstring problem.
The 28-year-old Atletico Madrid man has played the full 90 minutes in all four of Argentina's matches at this year's World Cup and he is just two appearances away from earning his 50th international cap.
Despite initial fears regarding De Paul's fitness, Scaloni has confirmed that the midfielder is now training and will be assessed before Friday's encounter with the Netherlands.
Di Maria, meanwhile, has also been training and is another to be monitored before kickoff after picking up a muscle issue prior to Argentina's 2-1 victory over Australia in the last 16 on Saturday.
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Speaking at a pre-match press conference on Thursday, Scaloni said: "In principle, Rodrigo de Paul is fine. We will see in today's training how we form the team.
"Always, after a game, there are players who train separately. Today we will make the decision (to set up the team) based on how we want to approach the game.
"De Paul and Fideo (Di Maria) trained yesterday. But there is still a day and a training session to see the team.
"After training, the players are always kicking penalties. But when you go to kick on game day, the goal is a matchbox".
Meanwhile, Papu Gomez was withdrawn in the win over Australia with a minor ankle injury, but he has since returned to the training field and has taken part in gym activities, and the attacker is pushing to be involved on Friday.
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Argentina are preparing for their sixth World Cup meeting with the Netherlands and their first since winning 4-2 on penalties in the 2014 semi-finals following a goalless draw in 120 minutes.
Indeed, the last two meetings between the two nations have ended 0-0 in 90 minutes, but Scaloni believes that Friday's contest will be "nice to watch" as he expects an attack-minded game at Lusail Stadium.
"Any of the eight teams that are still in the race did their best to reach the final," Scaloni added. "Tomorrow's game is going to be nice to watch, there are two teams that always propose to attack.
"We live it with the peace of mind that this team is going to give up everything. This is a team that has always stood up for itself."
Argentina will be motivated by the prospect of facing either South American rivals Brazil or 2018 runners-up Croatia in the semi-finals, but they must first prevail against the Netherlands, who finished top of Group A before beating USA 3-1 in the last 16.
Oliver Thomas
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