(Reuters) - Argentina suffered a blow to their 2018 World Cup qualifying plans when Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero withdrew on Monday from their squad to face Uruguay and Venezuela.
Aguero and Paris St-Germain midfielder Javier Pastore both have calf muscle injuries and will miss Thursday's home clash with Uruguay and the visit to Venezuela next Tuesday, the Argentine FA said. "Sergio Aguero has a left calf muscle injury and Javier Pastore has a pulled muscle in his right calf. For this reason they won't be present for this qualifying double header with the Argentina team," the FA said on their website (www.afa.com.ar).
Argentina are third in the 10-nation South American qualifying group with 11 points from six matches, two points behind leading pair Uruguay and Ecuador. Venezuela are bottom.