Mexico have "hope" that Andres Guardado can play in Confederations Cup playoff

Andres Guardado was supposed to miss the Confederations Cup playoff after suffering an injury that would keep him out several weeks, but maybe he won't miss the contest after all. Mexico trainer Carlos Pencha said that Guardado's recovery is going quickly and that they have "hope" El Tri's captain will be available when they take on the United States at the Rose Bowl on October 10.

"We have hope," Pencha said to Goal. "Andrés has spoken with the medical staff and with the directors and he feels good physically and emotionally.

"He could be fit to play Sunday against Ajax," added Pecanha, who was dispatched by Mexico to help oversee Guardado’s recovery. "As soon as he participates in this match, he automatically could justify participating with us. His club’s medical staff will make a final evaluation at the end of this match, and if everything goes well, we still will have another week to work with him."

Sunday's match will determine Guardado's availability. If he plays for PSV in that contest, the club will have no way of ruling him out of the Mexico team. If he misses, they could claim that he's not fit enough to join up with El Tri and Mexico would have to convince them that he should be allowed to play.

Fabian Johnson's return and the possibility of him playing at right back makes the U.S. stronger on that flank so Guardado on the left for Mexico wouldn't necessarily be a killer to the Americans. Still, Guardado is a terrific player who undoubtedly makes El Tri better and he's also their captain so there's a big leadership role he takes on, not to mention his ability to move centrally and help the team there.