Scorer with Inter Miami and qualified for the quarter-finals of the Concacaf Champions League, Wednesday evening in Florida, Lionel Messi was replaced due to a muscle injury. He had already just missed an MLS match…
Lionel Messi, 36, is starting to look his age. Author of a good start to the season with Inter Miami, the Ballon d’Or record holder was rested last weekend after receiving a blow to the left calf. “La Pulga” thus resumed Wednesday evening in the round of 16 second leg of the Champions Cup (the Champions League of North America, Central America and the Caribbean), for a 3-1 victory against Nashville, synonymous with qualification.
Messi made the difference again, serving Luis Suarez for the opener (8th) before crossing his left shot for the break goal (23rd). But the Argentine number 10 gave up his place at the start of the second half (50th), injured in the hamstrings of his right leg. He was unable to continue the meeting. The slightest sprint could have given him a very problematic muscle tear.
Tata Martino reassuring
“Lionel Messi left the match at the start of the second half due to a slight leg injury, it bothered him a little and I took him out as a precaution”, explained Tata Martino, the coach of the Florida team, after the meeting. If it is a simple discomfort in the back of the thigh, the 2022 world champion will only have to rest a few days. It is not certain that he will play the MLS match at DC United on Saturday.
If Messi continues to experience physical problems in the coming months, Inter Miami will have a hard time releasing its star player for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games football tournament (from July 24 to August 10), scheduled in the wake of the Copa América (June 20 to July 14). The former PSG player will obviously lead the Albiceleste to the Copa, but his participation in the Olympics is very uncertain…
