Edinson Cavani trained lightly on Thursday, but his coach would not be drawn on whether the Uruguay forward had recovered sufficiently from injury to have a chance of being fit for Friday's World Cup quarter-final with France.
Cavani trained gently, but apart from the rest of the squad, in a session open to media at Uruguay's base just outside Nizhny Novgorod yesterday.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. "He's a very important player for us and he was really playing very well. As soon as he got injured, he has worked hard to recover and fulfil his dream," Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez told reporters.
“I'm not going to say anything more about Cavani, I don't want to get into games... Soon you will know who will play and who will be on the bench... Forgive me that you're not going to have all the information, as I have neither about the French."
Tabarez said he had given no thought to the significance of having a referee from neighbouring Argentina, Nestor Pitana, to handle such an important inter-continental match.
"It's a coincidence. But we've never won a game with this referee. But I don't want to start these games. It doesn't really matter if he's Argentine or not. He's a good referee."
In charge of Uruguay since 2006 and through three World Cups, Tabarez had warm words for hosts Russia.
“I think this is one of the greatest World Cups organised, and in my personal experience, it's the best ever."
Leave your comments