Premier League star told to postpone holiday plans in case of late World Cup call-up

World Cup squads have been submitted but there could be a huge change to the Argentina national team's travelling party, with one star told to cancel his vacation plans.

Lionel Scaloni took his time to pick his 26-man squad for the defence of Argentina's World Cup crown in North America.

He left out a total of nine stars who were present when Argentina became world champions for the third time at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar.

Explaining his decision to leave the announcement so late, Scaloni said: "We're taking all the time given to assess the players' condition and finalise the 26-man squad. After that, we won't risk any players in the friendlies; we'll use a mix of players."

There are a plethora of Argentina players dealing with fitness issues, including captain and talisman Lionel Messi after he suffered muscle fatigue in his left hamstring during a recent Inter Miami fixture.

Currently training alone, Messi is expected to be fit and ready for a record-breaking sixth World Cup.

However there are still fears over the condition of a number of players, so much that Aston Villa star Emiliano Buendia has been alerted to postpone any holiday plans he had, according to D Sports Radio in Argentina.

Buendia has played twice for Argentina. Image: Getty

Buendia, who helped fire Villa to a Europa League final triumph and Champions League qualification with 10 goals and eight assists, has been instructed to continue training by the coaching staff in the event that an opportunity arises.

It would be a huge achievement for the former Norwich City attacker, who has not played at a major tournament for Argentina and only been capped twice for his country.

Buendia is a leading candidate to replace one of the injured players still being assessed by the Argentina coaching staff.

READ MORE: Lionel Messi receives special perk at Argentina's World Cup training camp that no other player has

Messi is one of three players not yet at 100 per cent after dealing with a muscle injury, alongside Nahuel Molina and Leandro Paredes.

But according to Gaston Edul, another player under constant evaluation is Como starlet Nico Paz - set to return to Real Madrid this summer.

Paz has been included in the 26-man squad but suffered an injury against Hellas Verona which he still not yet recovered from.

Though the deadline has passed for the World Cup squads, changes can still be made due to injury or illness and Buendia could be one of the biggest beneficiaries.

Argentina have upcoming friendlies against Honduras and Iceland before they begin the World Cup campaign in Group J against Algeria on 16 June in Kansas City.

They then take on Austria in Arlington, Texas on 22 June and conclude the group stage against tournament debutants Jordan on 27 June.