Paulo Dybala set to miss World Cup after freak penalty injury

Dybala is not expected to play for Roma again this year

Argentina's preparations for the Qatar World Cup have been dealt a blow with the news Paulo Dybala looks likely to miss the tournament after picking up a freak injury while taking a penalty for Roma. Dybala's converted a spot kick early in the second half of the win against Lecce on Sunday proved to be the winning goal for Jose Mourinho's side, who claimed a 2-1 victory. The 28-year-old pulled up immediately after scoring the penalty and was substituted almost straight away, watching the remainder of the game from the bench with a pack of ice strapped to his left thigh.

Mourinho on Dybala's injury

Asked about the injury after the game, Mourinho suggested Paulo Dybala would not feature for his club until next year.

"I say [Dybala is] bad, not to say very, very bad," he told DAZN. "Unfortunately, it is more very bad than [just] bad.

"I’m not a doctor and I haven’t spoken to one, but from my experience, from what I understood from talking to Paulo, it [will be] difficult."

https://twitter.com/jmancini8/status/1579228777871474688

Argentina one of the favourites heading to Qatar

Argentina are amongst the favourites to win their first World Cup since 1986 in Qatar, having beaten Brazil to win the Copa America last year. The tournament begins on November 20, with Lionel Scaloni's side beginning their campaign two days later against Saudi Arabia. They have also been drawn in a group with Mexico and Poland. The victory for Roma was their second in a row and saw them climb to fifth in Serie A, four points back from leaders Napoli. More football news:

• Brighton confirm shock retirement of Enock Mwepu due to heart condition
• Carles Puyol apologises for ‘clumsy joke’ after reply to Iker Casillas tweet
• FA reviewing incident involving Arsenal and Liverpool players after clash

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