Article by Mihai Șovei – Published Friday, March 27, 2026, 1:06 p.m. / Updated Friday, March 27, 2026, 1:06 p.m.
Joaquin Panichelli (23 years old), his striker Strasbourg and top scorer in Ligue 1, suffered a ruptured cruciate ligament in his right knee during training ahead of the friendlies that Argentine will play them at the end of this month.
Following this injury, the striker will miss the World Championship in the United States of America, Canada and Mexico.
Joaquin Panichelli was injured and will miss the World Championship
Joaquin Panichelli, who has 16 goals for Strasbourg in the French championship, suffered a rupture of the cruciate ligaments in his right knee during a training session of the Albiceleste national team. The injury occurred in the last training session before the friendly match against Mauritania, which will be played on the night of Friday to Saturday.
The Argentinian striker left the field in tears, waiting for the medical examinations that would later confirm the scenario he did not want.
The results of the analyses, already known after midnight, revealed a recurrence of the same injury that the striker had suffered two years ago. This serious injury thus ends Panichelli's dream of representing the national world champion at the tournament that will take place in the United States, Mexico and Canada in the summer, according to abola.pt.
Joaquin Panichelli (left) was injured and will miss the World Championship / photo: instagram @joaco_panichelli
According to journalist Fabrizio Romano, the Argentine will be out of action for around 7 months.
The forward's call-up was highly anticipated, especially due to his excellent form in Ligue 1. Panichelli is currently the French league's top scorer with 16 goals. The great performance in the Hexagon earned him a call-up from Lionel Scaloni and his debut for Argentina in a friendly against Angola last November.
With the World Cup on the horizon, the coach called Panichelli back to watch him closely. However, the serious injury prevents the striker from fighting for a place on the final call-up list for the competition.
25million euros is its market share, according to Transfermarkt
Argentina will try to defend the world title won in the winter of 2022, in Qatar. The reigning world champions have been drawn in a group alongside Austria, Jordan and Algeria.
