Worrying Gilberto Mora Injury Update Spells Trouble for Mexico’s World Cup Preparations

The 17-year-old Mexican soccer gem has been dealing with a dangerous and uncertain injury.

Gilberto Mora is one of Mexico’s biggest hopes for the 2026 World Cup. | Luis Cano/Jam Media/Getty Images

Mexico national team wonderkid Gilberto Mora has been sidelined with a groin injury for over a month and reports indicate concerns regarding his fitness are starting to grow within El Tri, with no timeline for his return in sight.

Mora has been nursing the groin issue since late December and after playing sporadic minutes for Tijuana at the start of the Liga MX Clausura 2026 season, the teenager withdrew from Mexico’s January camp and hasn’t been seen on the pitch since.

A conservative treatment to fix Mora’s “Pubalgia”—the same injury Lamine Yamal suffered earlier in the season and that now threatens Nico Williams’s 2026 World Cup status—has been Tijuana’s approach. But as weeks have gone by, Azteca Deportes insider David Medrano reports the situation is starting to cause serious concern within El Tri.

"There’s a big worry,” Medrano said. “Because six weeks have gone by and the pain in Mora’s groin hasn’t disappeared.”

Tijuana never made a public statement sharing details about Mora’s injury and recovery timeline, but there has been ongoing communication with El Tri regarding the young star’s health.

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Mexico National Team Have No Timeline For Gilberto Mora Return

Gilberto Mora has seven caps with El Tri’s senior team. | Martín Fonseca/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images

Mexico national team president was asked about Mora’s status during a press conference on Wednesday. Although Davino shared insight on the situation, he also failed to deliver a clear answer about when the 17-year-old midfielder is expected to return to action.

“We have to respect what clubs want to communicate or not,” Davino said. “We’ve been in close contact, we thank Tijuana for always keeping a close eye on Gil’s [Mora] rehabilitation.

“He’s in a period of conservative rehabilitations. He’s a kid that, because of his age, he’s had an overload of games played and now it’s been decided to lower his load and it’s been decided to take a conservative measure for his recovery.

Gilberto Mora made his senior international debut in the 2025 Gold Cup. | Yair Gonzalez/Jam Media/Getty Images

"We hope he is back as soon as possible so he can be considered by Javier [Aguirre].”

The hope originally was for Mora to be able to feature for El Tri during the March international friendlies against Portugal and Belgium, but Tijuana manager Sebastián Abreu shared what the ultimate goal for Mora’s recovery is.

“He [Mora] is continuing his rehabilitation,” Abreu said. “We will take it day by day until the medical staff tells us he’s ready to rejoin training. But there aren’t any dates; here, the important thing is that Gil is ready for the World Cup.”

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Potential Gilberto Mora Replacements for Mexico

Obed Vargas (left) could play significant minutes with El Tri with Mora injured. | Alika Jenner/Leagues Cup/MLS/Getty Images

With no return in sight, Aguirre could be forced to search for alternatives in midfield—where Mora had secured a starting role—for the upcoming March international break.

Given the situation, it’s almost guaranteed that Real Betis midfielder Álvaro Fidalgo makes his El Tri debut against Portugal. The midfielder recently switched his international allegiance from Spain to Mexico, and Davino spoke about the legendary Liga MX player’s chances of getting called up.

“We’ve been in contact with him,” Davino admitted. “First of all because he’s a player that was great during his time here [in Liga MX] with Club América and secondly because he is Mexican and thirdly because FIFA has authorized [him playing for Mexico].

“What I can tell you is that Álvaro wants to come play for the national team. He’s among the group of players we are keeping an eye on, and it will be up to Javier [Aguirre] if he decides to bring him.”

Obed Vargas, Mora’s teammate during the 2025 U-20 World Cup, is another favorite to get significant minutes come the March friendlies. Vargas recently completed a move to Atlético Madrid and can operate in similar areas.

Still, given the level Mora showed during his breakout 2025, El Tri will be desperate to hear good news about his recovery. The status of Mora’s injury will be one of the most scrutinized topics in Mexico during the lead up to the 2026 World Cup .

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