Gerardo Martino named a very familiar Argentina squad last week for the forthcoming friendlies against Bolivia and México in the United States but has been forced to rethink those plans after Pablo Zabaleta was ruled out through injury. The Manchester City defender is reportedly out injured for four to six weeks with a knee ligament strain and Martino is now mulling over a call-up for San Lorenzo’s Julio Buffarini, Boca Juniors’ Gino Peruzzi or River Plate’s Gabriel Mercado.

Zabaleta has not yet featured for Manchester City this season and medics have now confirmed that the knee injury that the 30-year-old picked up in training will prompt an extended spell on the sidelines. The former San Lorenzo right back said: “It was in training. It’s the first time in 12 years that I suffer an injury like this. It is a blow to morale, mostly because the season has just begun.”

The blow to Zabaleta and Argentina opens the door for one of three domestic talents, all coming from three of Argentina’s ‘Big Five’. Gabriel Mercado and Gino Peruzzi have both had international calls previously but for San Lorenzo fan favourite, Julio Buffarini it would be a first.

The 27-year-old has played over 100 times for Los Cuervos and the maruading right-back has been a vital part of San Lorenzo’s recent success. A tireless runner, Buffarini provides a dangerous attacking threat down the right but is a solid enough defender, who supporters frequenting the Nuevo Gasómetro on a regular basis, feel is long overdue international recognition.

River Plate’s Gabriel Mercado has always been a reliable option throughout his career in Argentina despite not making the move to Europe and was given his one solitary cap by Diego Maradona in 2010. Maradona used so many players that it comes as little surprise but Mercado was also called up by Alejandro Sabella for his initial 30-man World Cup squad.

23-year-old Gino Peruzzi has been discussed as a future Argentina right-back since shackling Neymar for Vélez Sarsfield back in the 2012 Copa Libertadores. A move to Catania followed but did not work out and the defender is now rebuilding his reputation with Boca Juniors.

One of these three looks likely to replace Zabaleta and may yet cause further issues in Argentina with the player selected going to miss a weekend’s Primera action. The weekend in question Boca Juniors will play San Lorenzo in what is a top of the table clash. Boca will already be without Carlos Tevez and Fernando Gago and will rightly be angered to also lose Peruzzi, while Buffarini will be a significant loss for San Lorenzo.