Sainz will definitely start in Argentina
Carlos Sainz will definitely start the Rally Argentina for Ford, despite a painful back injury that has forced him to miss all of today's (Thursday's) planned engagements
The Spaniard has a disc pressing on a sciatic nerve in his back - a condition which has already forced him to limit his runs over the stages on the event's recce. Although he felt better on Tuesday, to the point of almost attempting a short jog, the condition has worsened once again and the former world champion struggled to get out of bed today.
Sainz is on a course of pain-killers and does not believe that tonight's pair of 3.44km special stages will pose a problem, but the team is aware that the masking effect of the pain-killers could potentially lead to longer-term damage. Doctors will decide after tonight's stages if he will be fit to venture into the stages 'proper' tomorrow (Friday).
Among the engagements Sainz was forced to miss was the official pre-event press conference. Ford team boss Malcolm Wilson attended in his place and the marque is relatively confident that under the circumstances, it should escape censure.
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