HARRISON, N.J. — Inter Milan's best and most highly sought-after player didn't take the field for Wednesday's friendly against Argentine side Estudiantes de La Plata, and while the club may be insisting publicly that Mauro Icardi isn't going anywhere, his absence still raised eyebrows.

The official word from Inter was that Icardi was still recovering from a recent shoulder injury, which kept him out of the 1-1 draw at Red Bull Arena. He was healthy enough to take part in training Tuesday and Wednesday morning but ultimately was left out.

Rodrigo Palacio, Stevan Jovetic and Jonathan Biabiany took advantage of Icardi's absence to remind fans of the other forward options available to Roberto Mancini, and early on Palacios made the biggest impression, setting an opening strike from Yuto Nagatomo in the fifth minute.

Jovetic had a clear look for a possible second goal but rushed his chance and sent a left-footed blast well wide of the mark.

Inter failed to take advantage of the early control enjoyed in the first part of the match, allowing Estudiantes to eventually battle back into the friendly. Leandro Desabato equalized for the Argentineans in the 43rd minute when he headed home a Juan Cavallaro free kick.

Despite missing several top players, such as Icardi, Ever Banega, Marcelo Brozovic and newly acquired Cristian Ansaldi to name a few, Inter did show good glimpses in attack in what was the third match of the club's preseason tour of the United States.

After the match, the talk naturally turned to Icardi, and whether he would be remaining with Inter or departing on a transfer. Rumors have continued to swirl about a potential move, and ramped up even more after Gonzalo Higuain's transfer from Napoli to Juventus, which suddenly gave Napoli the kind of cash infusion that could be used to pry Icardi away.

Icardi didn't speak to media after Wednesday's friendly, while club vice president Javier Zanetti refused to answer direct questions about Icardi's future. The Inter legend chose instead to raise his hands and shake his head, as if to suggest he wasn't going anywhere near the subject.

Mancini was more willing to address the Icardi transfer rumors head on, stating that he wasn't worried about losing the Argentine striker.

"Icardi is our player and I don't have any problems for this," said Mancini, who affirmed that he believes Icardi will stay.

As for what sort of team Inter fans could expect to see in the upcoming season, Mancini gave an answer that makes you wonder how much more roster shifting will take place.

"Now it's difficult to say this," Mancini said. "We need to wait until the end of the market, but our target is to get a Champions League position."