Argentina's Romero back in full training before World Cup knockout clash

KANSAS CITY, Kansas, June 29 : Argentina defender Cristian Romero returned to full training on Monday and could be available for their World Cup Round-of-32 clash against Cape Verde on Friday after being sidelined in the reigning champions final Group J match with a knee injury.

• Romero was forced off in the 57th minute of Argentina's 2-0 win over Austria on June 22 after suffering a knee injury.

• The 28-year-old centre back did not feature in Saturday's 3-1 victory versus Jordan, with veteran Nicolas Otamendi stepping into the starting lineup.

• Coach Lionel Scaloni rotated his squad against Jordan after Argentina had already secured top spot in Group J.

• Scaloni said Romero was the only unavailable player for the Jordan game but was confident he would recover for the knockout stage.

• Argentina returned to training in Kansas City on Monday following a day off on Sunday, with Romero taking part in the session alongside the rest of the squad.

• Prior to the Jordan game, Romero had resumed on-field work but did not participate in the training session open to the media on Friday.