Chile face Uruguay tonight in the World Cup Qualifiers and, as we all predicted, Arsenal’s superstar Alexis Sanchez is already suffering from a calf strain after playing in the draw with Columbia.
The Chile manager already knew that Alexis was in a weakened condition when he arrived in South America but he played him for the full 90 minutes against Colombia, and despite his injury and weakness he still intends to play him this evening if there is any chance of him getting on the pitch. “Alexis had pain in his calf and we will wait for him until the last minute to see if he is ready to play,” Sampaoli said.
He then went on to emphasise how importand his “leaders” are, and of course Alexis is the foremost leader for Chile on the pitch. “I am proud to direct this group of footballers, and I hope I can keep doing so,” he continued.
“The leaders of the group are the ones who give me most hope and it is the hunger and commitment to the shirt which these players have which most binds me to the hope of another World Cup.
“We probably will not be able to win each and every game, or always play to our best, but wherever we are we will defend this shirt to the maximum.”
Which is very much our aims at Arsenal too. But now we know for certain, whether Alexis plays tonight or not (and he probably will) that our duracell bunny will definitely need a rest when he gets back….