Lionel Messi doubtful for Argentina World Cup qualifier as Vinicius Jr returns for Brazil

Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni said he will talk with Lionel Messi over whether to risk him in Thursday's South American World Cup qualifier against Paraguay as he continues his recovery from injury.

Messi, 36, teamed up with the World Cup winners after returning from injury as a second-half substitute for Inter Miami in Major League Soccer on Saturday.

The former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain forward has been struggling with an injury picked up while on international duty last month.

"We still have one more training session and one more is important for him ... I have to talk it over with him and make sure we are convinced he can start. He looked good. Based on that, we will see the rest of the team," said Scaloni.

The Argentina coach said he also had to take into account that his team would face Peru in Lima five days later.

"What leaves us calm is that, if he is not fit to play, whoever goes out will do just as well, that's the most important thing," Scaloni said.

Messi is Argentina's record scorer with 104 goals and inspired the "Albiceleste" to a third World Cup triumph at Qatar 2022.

Should Messi miss out against Paraguay, Scaloni is likely to turn to Manchester City's Julian Alvarez to partner Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez up front.

Alvarez, 23, has enjoyed an excellent start to the season, establishing himself alongside Erling Haaland in City's starting line up, contributing six goals and four assists across competitions.

Martinez boasts even better stats, with 10 goals in eight Serie A matches so far this season.

"They've already played together as starters," Scaloni said of Alvarez and Martinez. "I'm open to many things. It will depend on the match. It wouldn't be a problem. They're different, but they