Mexico has named its squad for upcoming World Cup qualifying games against Costa Rica and Trinidad & Tobago, with four notable absences.
LA Galaxy's Giovani dos Santos, Porto's Jesus "Tecatito" Corona, Eintracht Frankfurt's Marco Fabian and Pachuca's Hirving Lozano all missed out through injury, leaving El Tri boss Juan Carlos Osorio light in the wide positions.
Captain Rafa Marquez leads the squad, while Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez will once again be seeking to level Jared Borgetti as Mexico's all-time top scorer.
¡Estamos listos y vamos por todo!
El objetivo sólo es uno: Rusia 2018.https://t.co/KNlNWXndeW#PasiónyOrgullo pic.twitter.com/7vUpYkM4pK
- Selección Nacional (@miseleccionmx) March 16, 2017
Dos Santos limped out of L.A. Galaxy's 1-0 loss to Portland Timbers on Sunday at half-time with a hamstring concern, while Corona has barely played in March after picking up an injury late last month. Fabian is only just recovered from a serious back complaint, with Lozano still not ready to return after suffering an ugly tackle two weeks ago.
There are 11 players included from Europe, with the rest of the 25 names based in Mexico.
Mexico plays Los Ticos at the Estadio Azteca on March 24 and Trinidad & Tobago on March 28 in Port of Spain.
El Tri currently lies in second place in CONCACAF Hexagonal table, after defeating the United States 2-1 in its opener and drawing 0-0 with Panama.
Full squad:
Goalkeepers: Alfredo Talavera (Toluca), Guillermo Ochoa (Granada), Jesus Corona (Cruz Azul)
Defenders: Nestor Araujo (Santos Laguna), Rafa Marquez (Atlas), Luis Reyes (Atlas), Hector Moreno (PSV), Diego Reyes (Espanyol), Miguel Layun (Porto), Carlos Salcedo (Fiorentina), Oswaldo Alanis (Chivas)
Midfielders: Jesus Molina (Monterrey), Hector Herrera (Porto), Jesus Duenas (Tigres), Orbelin Pineda (Chivas), Andres Guardado (PSV), Jurgen Damm (Tigres), Elias Hernandez (Leon), Jonathan dos Santos (Villarreal), Jesus Gallardo (Pumas), Luis Montes (Leon)
Forwards: Javier Hernandez (Bayer Leverkusen), Carlos Vela (Real Sociedad), Raul Jimenez (Benfica), Oribe Peralta (Club America).