Araujo adds to Mexico World Cup injury concerns
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Mexico international Julián Araujo is a doubt for the World Cup after being ruled out for the rest of the Scottish Premiership season by Celtic manager Martin O’Neill on Friday.
“Julián reinjured himself under supervision at Bournemouth, so that was a real blow,” O’Neill said about the right-back who is on loan from the Premier League club.
“I’ve only found that out today … I don’t think we will see him for the rest of the season. I don’t know what sort of time element it is for his World Cup aspirations, don’t know that. But certainly for us, I don’t think we will see him again [this season] if it’s the same injury that he has redone.”
The U.S.-born defender initially made a name for himself with Celtic in 2026 before suffering a thigh injury last month during a Scottish Cup quarterfinal against Rangers.
Since his winter arrival, the fullback quickly made his mark as a go-to starter with 13 appearances in all competitions, which included a 97th minute game-winner in February.
Although Araujo hasn’t played for Mexico since last summer, and therefore wasn’t a guarantee for the World Cup, his stock was on the rise in a race for the position that is the most open in El Tri‘s XI.
Friday’s news is also another setback for the wider national team structure that has had a growing list of injury concerns.
Earlier in the spring, backup goalkeeper Ángel Malagón and starting midfielder Marcel Ruiz suffered injuries that will leave them out of the World Cup, although some reports indicate that Ruiz may recover in time.
Elsewhere, key figures such as Edson Álvarez, Rodrigo Huescas, and César Huerta have yet to return to play after their own physical concerns over the winter.
Others like Mateo Chávez, Gilberto Mora, Santi Gimenez, and Luis Chávez have recovered in recent weeks, but will now have a small window of time to regain momentum ahead of the World Cup.
Coupled with Araujo’s injury, Mexico manager Javier Aguirre now has another roster hurdle to overcome as he prepares for the national team’s tournament opener at home on June 11 vs. South Africa.
In the group stage, Mexico will also face South Korea on June 18 and Czechia on June 24.
This post was originally published at ESPN
