Enciso Left on a Stretcher. Paraguay Is Taking Him Anyway.

The Short Version

On Friday June 5, in the 24th minute of Paraguay’s World Cup farewell at Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Julio Enciso tried to control a ball and went down. He left the field on a stretcher, in tears. The stadium fell silent. Paraguay still won 4-0 against Nicaragua, but the victory played out without sound. Head coach Gustavo Alfaro’s official assessment: “double injury — a hit to the side that tightened the hamstring, then a lower-back impact that affected the quadriceps area.” Imaging scheduled the same evening. Multi-source prognosis from Paraguayan and international press: 2 to 3 weeks. That rules him out of the June 12 opener against the United States, almost certainly rules him out against Turkey on June 20, with a chance to return against Australia on June 24. Alfaro’s decision: he travels to the World Cup anyway, recovers in North America. This is what Paraguay loses without Enciso, what it still has, and why the coach is keeping him in the squad even if he doesn’t play the opener.

The 24th Minute That Changed the Albirroja’s Week

Asunción. Friday June 5. The Defensores del Chaco was dressed as a farewell. It was Paraguay’s last friendly on home soil before traveling to North America for the country’s first World Cup since 2010. The crowd came with flags, with songs, with the emotional contract a national team signs when it returns after 16 years away.

In the 24th minute, Julio Enciso tried to control a ball and stopped. He hobbled a few steps. Then he sat down on the grass. Then he lay down. The stretcher came, they lifted him, and the kid from Caaguazú left the field in tears. He was 22 years old, with the first two minutes of his World Cup in his head, and a body that was suddenly telling him maybe not.

The stadium went quiet. Not the polite silence of a moment of respect. The silence that happens when an entire country understands that something has just broken. Paraguay played on and won 4-0 — the goals were emphatic, the rest of the team did the job — but the result emptied out. Anyone in the Defensores del Chaco that night knew the match had ended in the 24th minute.

Here is what we know to the date of publication.

Alfaro’s Official Report: “Double Injury”

Coach Gustavo Alfaro, who knows the body of South American football as well as anyone, delivered his post-match press conference with the caution of someone who knows a rushed diagnosis can ruin a season.

“Julio suffered two simultaneous injuries: a tight hamstring from impact, and then on his waist, which affected the quadriceps area. He got scared, and that’s why he asked to come off.” — Gustavo Alfaro, post-match June 5

Confirmed via Yahoo Sports / USA TODAY, Sports Illustrated, Türkiye Today, and the reporting of Pedro Torres at Tigo Sports Paraguay — four independent sources citing the same version of Alfaro’s words.

Imaging tests (MRI) were scheduled for that same evening. As of the close of this article, the Paraguayan medical staff has not published the complete report. But the prevailing reading among local press and international outlets converges on a band: two to three weeks of absence.

Worth noting what Alfaro did not say. He did not say “fracture.” He did not say “serious muscle tear.” He did not say “rupture.” He chose the word “injury” without adjectives. From a coach who has worked with San Lorenzo, Boca, Tigre, Independiente, Huracán, Universidad Católica, Ecuador and Costa Rica, that is not accidental. Alfaro picks his words the way he picks his fullbacks. If the first evaluation had been catastrophic, there would not have been a calm press conference. There would have been silence or tears.

The Decision: He Travels Anyway

On Saturday June 6, Paraguayan journalist Pedro Torres (@PepiTorres17) published on X the editorial line that the official outlets later confirmed:

“Julio Enciso will travel to the World Cup with the Paraguay national team. Alfaro’s decision is to keep him with the group and work on his recovery, knowing that he is ruled out for the debut against the United States and that he will probably also miss the Turkey game.”

That sentence has layers. Let me unpack them.

First layer: Alfaro is taking him. This is not a sentimental move. It is a medical-tactical move. Having the player in the squad means access to the national-team medical staff, dedicated physiotherapy, the hyperbaric chamber if one is available, and the daily monitoring that any European club would charge the Federation for if they left him at Strasbourg or Asunción. The World Cup camp is the best available clinic.

Second layer: ruled out for the opener. This was said quietly but it was said. Enciso does not play against the United States on June 12 at SoFi Stadium. If he does play in the group stage, the realistic scenario is Australia on June 24 at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium. That is a 19-day window from the injury — enough for a conservative recovery if the tests confirmed what Alfaro described.

Third layer: the silence on Turkey. Torres wrote “probably also miss the Turkey game” — that is editorial commentary, not a medical report. But the editorial is informed. It means the medical staff has already discounted those first two matches from Enciso’s calendar.

What Paraguay Loses Without Enciso

To understand the weight of this absence, you need to understand what Enciso is for this squad.

At 22, Enciso is the principal creative focus of a team that is not a team of many goals. Paraguay qualified for the World Cup with defensive discipline (10 goals conceded in 18 CONMEBOL qualifying matches, a figure that has circulated in several pre-tournament analyses) and with individual flashes in attack. The main source of those flashes is Enciso.

His 2025-26 numbers at Strasbourg, his first season in Ligue 1: 12 goals, 9 assists in 42 appearances. Fourteen goal contributions every 22 matches. Compared to the rest of the Paraguayan squad — where there are good players but few net producers — those numbers are the difference between a team that qualifies and one that exits in the first round.

His market value, according to Transfermarkt, is €25 million — tied with Diego Gómez, the Brighton midfielder who is also in the squad. Those two are Paraguay’s premium tier. If the injury had hit Gómez, Alfaro would be rotating the double pivot. Because the injury hit Enciso, the problem is one of pure offensive production.

On the field, Enciso plays the left flank as an inverted winger or attacking midfielder depending on the shape. In the World Cup, against the United States, the speculation had been a one-on-one duel against Fulham left back Antonee Robinson — a matchup Sports Illustrated described as decisive for Paraguay, based on the autumn 2025 friendly (USA 2-1 Paraguay) where Enciso impressed on the left against Max Arfsten.

Without Enciso, that flank reshapes. Alfaro will have to decide between:

• Gustavo Caballero, the pure-pace winger SI calls the squad’s “X-factor”
• Diego Gómez released higher from the double pivot (defensively risky)
• A lower, more compact 4-5-1, sacrificing offensive production for solidity

None of those three options is Enciso. That is what’s available.

Group D and the Context

Group D is the most evenly matched cluster of the tournament on paper, within the new 48-team format. It is made up of the United States, Paraguay, Australia, and Turkey. FIFA put it together — accidentally or deliberately — so that it would be one of the most unpredictable groups.

The reality of each side, read from local press:

• United States: host, USMNT squad with Pulisic, Balogun, Reyna, and Robinson as pillars. Coming off a 1-2 loss to Germany at Soldier Field on June 6. Defensively vulnerable (10 goals conceded in three recent friendlies per Yahoo Sports). Pochettino still described himself as “happy” with the performance against Germany.
• Paraguay: La Albirroja returns to the World Cup after 16 years. Defensive discipline solid. Without Enciso, offensive creativity rests on Diego Gómez, Caballero, and fullback overlaps.
• Australia: Socceroos predictable, with their high-press style and physical duels. The Paraguay vs Australia match, if Enciso arrives, could be his return.
• Turkey: a young squad that has shown high potential but inconsistency in recent tournaments.

The opening match Paraguay-USA on June 12 at SoFi Stadium is the most critical for the Albirroja. A draw works. A win launches them. A loss forces them to beat Turkey on June 20 and Australia on June 24 — without Enciso for at least the first, possibly the first two.

What Replaces Enciso

Without Enciso for the opener, Gustavo Caballero becomes the name to watch. SI described him as the squad’s “X-factor” — a pure-pace winger who can generate diagonal runs inside or wide overlaps. Caballero does not yet have Enciso’s consistency or Ligue 1 numbers, but he has the quality this Paraguay attack most lacks: the element of surprise.

Another option is releasing Diego Gómez from the double pivot and shifting the system to a 4-2-3-1 with Gómez as the ten. That reconfiguration would put a Brighton midfielder in what was to be Enciso’s role, but takes away a defensive shield in midfield. Defensively risky against the US midfield, which advances through Tyler Adams and Yunus Musah.

The third route — the most conservative — is a compact 4-5-1 with all carrying full-backs deep, waiting for the US and breaking on the counter. That removes offensive production but protects the result. Alfaro has used this shape with Ecuador and Costa Rica in critical moments. He knows the layout.

What none of these systems can do is reproduce what Enciso brings: the individual spark that breaks open tight matches. That spark, for the first two matches of Group D, will not be there.

The 2010 Echo: Paraguay and the Weight of Return

There is a conversation that is not being held aloud, and it deserves to be: this World Cup is Paraguay’s first in 16 years. The last appearance was South Africa 2010 — the Gerardo Martino cycle, with Roque Santa Cruz, Salvador Cabañas (after tragedy), Cardozo, Édgar Barreto, Carlos Bonet — where Paraguay reached the quarterfinals and lost 1-0 to Spain (who would go on to be world champions).

That 2010 cycle is Paraguay’s historical ceiling. Quarter-finals of the World Cup. An entire generation of Paraguayans grew up with that image as reference.

The 2026 kids — Enciso (22), Gómez (22), Caballero (25), the rest — are the heirs of that cycle, but also the heirs of 16 years without a World Cup. Every injury, every absence, every medical decision carries an additional layer of weight because the last time Paraguay lived through this, they reached the quarter-finals.

Enciso’s injury, read within that frame, is not just a sporting absence. It is a question about whether Paraguay can repeat 2010 — and the likely answer, with or without Enciso for the opener, remains “it’s very difficult.” But the question deserves to be framed that way, not as an isolated absence of a Strasbourg player, but as the second major blow to a country that needed everything to go right.

What We Don’t Know

In the spirit of being direct about the limits of reportable knowledge three days from the opener:

• We don’t know the complete MRI result from Enciso’s evening of June 5. The Paraguayan Football Federation has not published the full report.
• We don’t know whether the “double injury” described by Alfaro indicates real muscle damage or only contusion plus shock.
• We don’t know the exact date of Enciso’s return. “Australia on the 24th” is the optimistic scenario, not the guarantee.
• We don’t know Alfaro’s final shape for the June 12 match. The choice between Caballero, Gómez released, or 4-5-1 has not been resolved publicly.
• We don’t know if Enciso’s absence forces a squad change (calling up a replacement). The declared decision so far is they take him anyway, which means squad intact, but FIFA allows injury replacements up to 24 hours before the team’s first match.

What we do know, multi-source verified: Enciso was injured on June 5, remains in the squad, travels to the World Cup with Paraguay, does not play the opener, returns if he can for Australia.

FAQ

What happened to Julio Enciso? In the 24th minute of the Paraguay-Nicaragua friendly on June 5 at the Defensores del Chaco in Asunción, Enciso tried to control a ball and went down. He left on a stretcher, in tears. Alfaro’s diagnosis: double injury — tight hamstring from impact on the side, then lower-back impact affecting the quadriceps.

When was Enciso injured? Friday June 5, 2026, in the Albirroja’s last friendly before traveling to North America. Paraguay won 4-0.

How long will he be out? Public prognoses suggest 2 to 3 weeks. That rules him out of the USA opener on June 12, almost certainly rules him out vs Turkey on June 20, with a chance against Australia on June 24.

Is he going to the World Cup with Paraguay? Yes. On June 6 it was confirmed that Gustavo Alfaro is taking him to the World Cup anyway and will work on recovery with the national-team medical staff during the camp in North America.

Who replaces Enciso in the opener against the United States? Options reported in the press are Gustavo Caballero (pure-pace winger), Diego Gómez released from the double pivot, or a more conservative 4-5-1. Alfaro has not confirmed the shape for June 12.

Who is Julio Enciso? A left-footed Paraguayan attacking midfielder, 22 (born in Caaguazú on January 23, 2004), playing for Strasbourg in Ligue 1 after three seasons at Brighton (2022-2025) and a loan at Ipswich. This 2025-26 season he scored 12 goals and provided 9 assists in 42 appearances.

Where does Paraguay play at the World Cup? Group D, with the United States, Australia, and Turkey. Opener vs USA on June 12 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Then vs Turkey on June 20 at Levi’s Stadium in San Francisco Bay Area, and vs Australia on June 24.

When was Paraguay’s last World Cup appearance? South Africa 2010. They reached the quarter-finals, where they lost 1-0 to Spain, who would later become world champions.

What did Gustavo Alfaro say about the prospect of recovery? Alfaro was measured: “Hopefully it’s nothing serious and just the result of an impact, and we can keep him and recover him fully.” He did not promise return for any specific date.

Why does Enciso matter so much for Paraguay? He is the team’s principal creative source, valued at €25 million (tied with Diego Gómez as the two most valuable players in the squad), with strong numbers in Ligue 1 (12 goals, 9 assists 2025-26). On a Paraguay side that is not a goal-rich team, Enciso is the individual spark that breaks open tight matches.

Does FIFA allow injury replacements? Yes. Up to 24 hours before the team’s first match. As of this article’s close, Paraguay has not requested any replacement. Alfaro’s declaration is that they keep Enciso in the squad.