Edson Alvarez will undergo tests after leaving the field due to injury just 30 minutes after Mexico participated in the Copa America.
Alvarez, 26, was stunned after he appeared to suffer an injury in the first half of Mexico’s opening match of the tournament against Jamaica at NRG Stadium in Houston.
The midfielder was stopped while running back to stop a Jamaican counter-attack and was left in tears as medical staff attended to him on the pitch.
After that, the technical staff helped him off the field and his teammates consoled him. Luis Romo replaced him from the bench.
In Alvarez’s absence, Gerardo Arteaga’s second-half goal secured a 1-0 win.
Mexico coach Jaime Lozano said after the match: “We will wait a few days to run some tests on him and find out what he is suffering from.”
Alvarez was taken off within 30 minutes of Mexico’s opener (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
“He felt something in his leg and we made the decision to get him out.”
“It’s very important,” Lozano added. “He’s a leader, he understands the game well. He’s important on the pitch and in the locker room as well.”
“You listen to him talk, he has a way with words, and when he talks you listen to him. This has been a hard blow for all of us… We will wait for the results in two days.”
The tournament is Alvarez’s first after Lozano appointed him captain in May.
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He spoke to the press before the match on Friday about what an honor it would be to lead his country in the Copa.
“I really want this to start, (so) I can go out tomorrow with the captain’s armband and hear the Mexican national anthem in front of all the people,” he said.
“It’s something I think about and I get goosebumps.”
Any long-term injury would also be badly received by West Ham United, the Premier League club Alvarez joined from Ajax for £34.4 million ($44.1 million) last summer.
He impressed in his first season in English football, making 42 appearances in all competitions for the East London club.
Alvarez has played 80 international matches with the national team since his debut in 2017, scoring five goals.
(Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
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