Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino will remain Mexico‘s coach until at least until the 2022 World Cup, the country’s Football Federation president Yon de Luisa confirmed.

Martino, 59, underwent a third eye operation on Thursday in Mexico City, having struggled with his vision since suffering from a retinal detachment in September.

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De Luisa has denied speculation that Martino could be replaced ahead of the November tournament in Qatar because of his medical condition.

“We know about his work and his capacity,” De Luisa said of Martino. “Unfortunately, he had the problem in the retina, which was recurrent, but the hope is that he is well, and that together we can push towards this year’s journey to Qatar.”

Martino missed his team’s 1-0 win at Honduras on Sunday because of his eye problem but was present at Mexico’s last World Cup qualifier, a 2-0 home victory over El Salvador on Wednesday.

The midweek win saw Mexico seal an automatic spot in the World Cup after finishing second behind Canada in the standings, level on points.

Martino, who took over as Mexico coach in January 2019, is already looking ahead to the World Cup.

“We need to focus on improving from a football standpoint,” he said. “This is a time to start monitoring the players closely, have more contact with them. We have to make the most of the chances that we will be together, especially the international window at the end of May.”

El Tri head into the World Cup hoping to reach the quarterfinal stage for the first time since 1986, having since suffered a long run of second-round exits.