Argentina captain Agustin Creevy is a doubt for Sunday’s World Cup semi-final game against Australia, according to AP.
The experienced hooker could be a huge loss for the South Americans as they look to compete with Australia’s scrum.
The skipper is due to have tests on his leg this week where he will learn his fate ahead of the Pumas’ crucial game.
The often criticised Australian pack has improved slightly so far in this tournament, so Argentina will need their main men to try and combat that.
The Wallabies have still shown some weaknesses, however, notably against Scotland, so all is not lost for the two-time World Cup semi-finalists.
Back-up hooker Julian Montoya, 21, discussed his captain on Monday, ahead of the last four match.
“We’re very hopeful that Agus will be able to start. He’s the captain, he’s an excellent player, an excellent person, so he’s very influential.”
Under the stewardship or Mario Ledesma, Australia have undoubtedly put more emphasis on their scrum game, and Montoya knows that is good and bad for the Pumas.
“We still haven’t studied it in-depth, but we know them and that their scrum will be extremely tough because they’ve come a long way there.
“It will be very close and for us it’s great if they scrummage a lot because it’ll tire them. I don’t know Ledesma, but I know he’s been very instrumental in improving their scrum.”
Argentina’s hopes of making the World Cup final for the first time on Sunday do not necessarily rest with Creevy’s fitness, but were he not to play, they may be left with a bad case of ‘what if?’, especially should the scrum game be tight – as expected.
