By Johnny Edward: The La Albiceleste of Argentina will be without Inter Milan captain, Mauro Icardi for their upcoming international friendly matches against Russia and Nigeria next week, Completesportsnigeria.com reports.

The Argentine striker has been ruled out due to a knee injury he sustained in Inter’s 1-1 draw with Torino in a Serie A game on Sunday.

According to a Tweet on the official handle of the Argentine Football Federation, the 24 year old hurt the patella tendon of his right knee.

The Tweet suggests Icardi suffered synovitis – an inflammation of the synovial membrane on his knee. Icardi will have more tests on Tuesday to ascertain the cause and any necessary treatment.

“Striker Mauro @Inter #Icardi will be out with SYNOVITIS pain in the patella tendon of his right knee,”the tweet states.

Argentina who have also qualified for the 2018 World Cup just like Nigeria will face the tournament hosts, Russia on 11th November before taking on Nigeria three days later, with both matches slated for Moscow and Krasnodar respectively.

Nigeria last defeated Argentina 4-1 in 2011, at the Abuja stadium but the La Albiceleste won the second encounter 3-1 in Dhaka, Bangladesh three months later.