Lionel Messi has made encouraging progress in his recovery from injury and could feature briefly in Argentina’s upcoming friendly matches ahead of the World Cup, according to head coach Lionel Scaloni.

Scaloni confirmed that the 36-year-old forward is now training partly with the squad after spending time working separately during his rehabilitation.

“Leo is doing well, he has already trained partly with the group and is no longer completely apart,” Scaloni said. “It’s possible he could play a few minutes in the friendlies. We’ll see whether that happens in tomorrow’s game or the next one.”

World Cup holders Argentina will face Honduras in College Station, Texas on Saturday, before meeting Iceland in Auburn, Alabama on Tuesday as part of their preparations for the tournament.

“He’s much better, and that gives us peace of mind,” Scaloni added.

The Argentine national team’s medical staff is managing several fitness concerns, led by captain Lionel Messi, who picked up a strain in his left hamstring during Inter Miami’s most recent match. He had initially been considered unlikely to feature against Honduras.

Head coach Lionel Scaloni also confirmed that Atlético Madrid goalkeeper Juan Musso will start the friendly at Kyle Field. First-choice goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez suffered a fracture in the ring finger of his right hand during the warm-up ahead of the Europa League final.

As a precaution, Martínez has been ruled out of both upcoming friendlies. However, he is expected to recover in time and should be available for Argentina’s World Cup opener against Algeria.

Scaloni is also expected to hand minutes to debutant Santiago Beltrán, the young River Plate goalkeeper who has been included in the squad for the friendlies.

In defence, Argentina are dealing with injury setbacks at right-back, with Nahuel Molina and Gonzalo Montiel both recovering from muscle tears. As a result, the coaching staff has brought in Agustín Giay and Nicolás Capaldo as temporary replacements for the warm-up matches.

Centre-back Cristian Romero has returned to training with the group after recovering from a knee sprain sustained in April, but he is still short of full match fitness. Scaloni must decide whether to ease him back into action or continue his recovery over the coming days.

There are also concerns over Nicolás Paz, who is training separately after suffering a heavy blow to his knee. He has already been ruled out of the match against Honduras and is now in doubt for Argentina’s World Cup opener.

Meanwhile, Leandro Paredes and Julián Álvarez arrived at the training camp in Kansas carrying minor fitness issues. Although both are showing signs of improvement, their involvement in the upcoming friendlies remains uncertain.

“The situation is improving,” Scaloni said. “They are fine, and we don’t want to risk them in these matches. The idea is that they will likely not take part in the friendlies.”

“In this one against Honduras, definitely not,” he added. “There might be a chance for the second match, but we will see.”

Scaloni admitted the coming days will provide a clearer picture of the squad’s condition.

“Next week will tell us exactly where we stand,” he said. “For now, things are going well, and we’ll assess everything as we go.”

Argentina will begin their World Cup campaign on June 16 against Algeria in Kansas City.