Argentina’s Lanzini ruled out of World Cup due to knee injury

West Ham’s Argentine midfielder Manuel Lanzini will miss the World Cup after injuring a knee during training in Spain, the Argentine football federation said Friday.

“Manuel Lanzini suffered, in today’s morning training, the rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament of his right knee,” the federation wrote in a Twitter message.

The 25-year-old, who had been linked with a summer transfer to Liverpool, now faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines. His injury is a blow for Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli who had counted on Lanzini for his starting line up.

Argentina’s national team is due to travel to Russia on Saturday for the World Cup. Argentina have been drawn in Group D alongside Iceland, Croatia and Nigeria.