Jorge Sampaoli provides injury update on Mexico's Jesus 'Tecatito' Corona | OneFootball

Sevilla head coach Jorge Sampaoli provided an update on Jesus ‘Tecatito’ Corona’s injury, insisting the player is recovering well, but slowly.

The Mexican national team figure suffered a broken fibula and a rupture of his ankle ligaments in August, forcing him to undergo surgery. His expected recovery period remains between four to five months, seeing him miss the World Cup.

Though El Tri head coach Gerardo Martino maintains hope that the player can return, even naming him to the 31-player preliminary World Cup roster, Sampaoli revealed the harsh reality of the situation.

“Tecatito is progressing day by day, his discharge date to return to training with the group is December 1 or 2,” Sampaoli said.

“So I do not see him having that possibility [of playing at the World Cup] due to the medical report. His evolution is good, but he had a very serious injury, and bringing [his return] forward might be a risk. Here, the ones who determine whether he can be there or not are the medical staff.”

Given the unlikely scenario that Tecatico returns weeks prior to the projected date, Martino must be prepared to start his replacement.

El Tri will likely look to depend on Chivas de Guadalajara figure Alexis Vega and Cruz Azul player Uriel Antuna in Qatar. Tata Martino has used Vega in the recent friendlies leading up to the international tournament, making him the probable choice to replace Corona in the starting line up.

Mexico kick off their 2022 World Cup campaign on November 22 against Poland, before facing Argentina and Saudi Arabia in Group C.