Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni has assured that Lionel Messi will take part for the national team during the summer’s Copa America in Brazil. The 31-year-old recently witnessed a disappointing return to competitive action with Argentina as they suffered an embarrassing 3-1 defeat at the hands of Venezuela.

The Barcelona attacker has since been ruled out of the Morocco game with a groin problem but the injury won’t keep him sidelined for more than a few days. Speaking to reporters, Scaloni has now confirmed that Messi will most certainly feature in the squad for the Copa America in the summer, given he has the drive to perform for the national side, he said: "Leo will be in Copa America. It is evident he will be. He showed maximum will here and we see he is very driven. When the match against Venezuela finished, we talked about the match, not about what is to come. We will work to get a better team."

“The Argentine boss added that the country should not be overly dependent on Messi to produce the results" and each player should prove their worth alongside the national team captain, he further told: "We have to work for that [the dependence on Messi] not to happen, for every player not to be “always drawn to Leo" . He will help us win matches, that's for sure."

With just three months left to the Copa America tournament, Scaloni has yet to sort out the best team with the likes of Sergio Aguero, Gonzalo Higuain and Mauro Icardi ignored at the moment. In particular, Aguero has been in stunning form for Manchester City this term with 28 goals across all competitions and Scaloni could find it hard to ignore the scoring prowess of the marksman. Aguero has managed 39 goals from 89 caps for Argentina.