Argentina midfielder Exequiel Palacios fractured a bone in his lower back during the 1-1 draw with Paraguay in Thursday's World Cup qualifier, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) confirmed on Friday.
Palacios sustained the injury in an aerial duel with Angel Romero in the first half of the contest at La Bombonera and was replaced by Giovani Lo Celso, who took the corner from which Nicolas Gonzalez headed home Argentina's equaliser.
The AFA did not specify how long Palacios would be out for, adding that the 22-year-old Bayer Leverkusen player's condition would be monitored in hospital.
"The player suffered direct trauma to the left paravertebral lumbar area, verifying a fracture of the transverse processes of the lumbar spine," the AFA said in a statement https://www.afa.com.ar/es/posts/parte-medico-de-exequiel-palacios.
Argentina are away to Peru next Tuesday while Paraguay host pointless Bolivia.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by David Goodman)
