Football
Tom Marshall, Mexico correspondent 7y

Hector Moreno a doubt for Mexico Confed Cup crunch game vs. Russia

KAZAN, Russia -- Mexico coach Juan Carlos Osorio has said defender Hector Moreno is not fully fit and may miss the crucial Confederations Cup match against Russia on Saturday.

Roma centre-back Moreno came off the bench to replace injured Carlos Salcedo in the 33rd minute of Mexico's 2-1 victory over New Zealand on Wednesday, but came off with a suspected injury in the 68th minute.

"I hope that Hector Moreno will be in tomorrow's game -- he's in the recovery process," Osorio told a news conference.

"I can't guess if he'll be in or not to play against Russia."

Mexico are set to train on Friday, with Osorio saying he is still debating whether to use a back three or four against the host nation.

The coach said he would not factor in Hector Herrera, Diego Reyes and Andres Guardado are carrying yellow cards into the match, with both Mexican and Russian participation on the line in their final Group A game.

Mexico will guarantee passage into the semifinal with a win or a draw, with only a victory securing Russia's place in the knockout stage.

El Tri will be without defender Salcedo, who is out for three months after injuring his shoulder against New Zealand. 

Mexico trained on Friday, with Moreno joining in with the rest of his teammates for the first 15 minutes, after which journalists were escorted out.

Osorio had said earlier on Friday that he would use the training session to decide whether to use a back three or a more traditional four.

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