Friday, February 26, 2021 at 7:40 AM• Yanick Vos • Last update: 07:56

Nicolás Tagliafico is a big question mark on the side of Ajax for Sunday’s match against PSV. The Argentinian left back was missing from the match selection against Lille OSC on Thursday-evening (2-1 win) after injuring the French leader in the away game last Thursday. According to The Telegraph he is struggling with a hip injury and is said to be infected with the corona virus.

Tagliafico was missing from Ajax against Sparta Rotterdam last Sunday (4-2 win). Trainer Erik ten Hag already announced that the recovery of the back is not going as hoped. Should he not be able to take action on Sunday, Daley Blind seems to be his logical replacement in the Philips Stadium. The the Dutch-international filled in the left back position against Lille on Thursday and earlier in the cup match against AZ.

Ten Hag saw on Thursday that Tagliafico was missed in the first half in particular. “Tagliafico is a very important link defensively”, said the winning trainer afterwards. “But Lille had also read us carefully and a solution for that, while we did not immediately have the counter solution. It took until half time that I was able to explain to them how the defensive organization should stand. After that it was a lot more stable. ”

Tagliafico usually provides Ajax with a fighting spirit, but even without the Argentinian on the field, Ajax showed itself to be combative. “Ajax can also compete without Tagliafico”, Ten Hag said against the leader of the French league. “You can’t always play football well. If you don’t, you have to win in a different way. The team understands that better and better. ”