Agentine forward Lionel Messi suffered a minor scrape in training on Friday, which gave national coach Diego Maradona a scare.

The focus on Lionel Messi's expected performance for the World Cup is such that even a scrape gets full blown local media coverage.

The Barcelona star was training with the Argentina squad when he fell and suffered a minor scrape on his right knee at the team's training base just outside Buenos Aires.

Speaking to Canal 13 television after training Maradona said: "We all got a fright.

"I didn't see it, my back was turned. He and Masche (Javier Mascherano) clashed knees and then I saw that Messi had stopped.

"But it's nothing, he put ice on it and if he wants to play on Monday (against Canada) he'll be on the pitch."

The national team doctor Donato Villani confirmed that the injury was nothing to worry about on the Argentine Football Association website: "It was just a scrape."

Messi carries the hopes of the country on his shoulders after a brilliant season with his club, Barcelona.