Lautaro Martinez reveals he was in ‘unbearable agony’ with an ankle injury when joining Argentina for World Cup duty and also thanks Inter for taking him ‘from zero trophies to seven in a year and a half.’
The centre-forward was instrumental in Inter’s Scudetto campaign with coach Antonio Conte, then won the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana under Simone Inzaghi, retaining the latter trophy by beating Milan 3-0 last month.
“I went from zero trophies to seven in a year and a half, that is something that motivates me to keep improving,” Lautaro Martinez told ESPN.
That list includes the other silverware won with Argentina, specifically the Copa America and the CONMEBOL-UEFA Cup of Champions against EURO 2020 holders Italy.
He was criticised by Argentina supporters in the early stages of the tournament, before losing his place to Julian Alvarez, but insists people did not realise the condition he was in.
“When I arrived at the World Cup, I couldn’t even kick the ball, as my ankle was in unbearable agony. I was very happy to see Julian’s extraordinary form, because he was able to give the squad something that at that moment I could not.
“At a certain point, Leo Messi came over and told me to focus on recovering, because I would be very useful to the team in the final minutes of games.
“I already felt that ankle pain when playing for Inter and I told the coach clearly what the situation was, so I asked to rest in order to prepare for the first group game. I played against Saudi Arabia with the aid of pain-killing injections, but I still couldn’t train regularly.”
Lautaro Martinez has 21 goals in 46 senior caps for Argentina, and while he did not score any goals from open play during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, he did convert a decisive penalty in the quarter-final shoot-out against the Netherlands.