Why Lionel Messi Isn’t Playing in Argentina’s USA Friendlies? Delving Into Severity of Inter Miami Star’s Injury After Missing DC United Clash

The Copa America is on the horizon and in preparation, Argentina has two friendly games against El Salvador and Costa Rica coming up. For the Head Coach, Lionel Scaloni, this is the opportunity to get the team chemistry and tactics right. Unfortunately, he will have to do so without Lionel Messi. The Inter Miami star didn’t feature against DC United because of a muscle injury. And it seems, he won’t recover in time for national team duties.

Journalist, Gaston Edul has provided an update on Lionel Messi’s injury. He said (translated via DeepL), “Leo Messi will not be able to participate in Argentina’s friendlies due to the recovery time of his muscle injury. They have to define if he will be disqualified from the tour or not, but he will still not be able to participate.” The squad chosen for the friendlies in the US had the Inter Miami ace as the captain. Some of the other notable names chosen were Alejandro Garnacho and 19-year-old Brighton star Valentin Barco.

Previously, there were reports that Lionel Messi was actually being rested at Inter Miami. Assistant Manager, Javier Morales too had said something along similar lines. He explained, “Luis Suarez, Messi, and all the players who were playing a lot of minutes, we will start rotating them so they can continue playing.” However, the latest update confirms that the 8x Ballon d’Or is injured and not rested. So, how did he get injured in the first place? Let’s dive in.

An injury relapse for Lionel Messi?

Lionel Messi’s absence against DC United was not surprising. After all, he looked uncomfortable in the previous CONCACAF match against Nashville SC. In the said encounter, Messi was substituted in the 50th minute despite playing well and even getting on the scoresheet. Fans were clinging to the hope that it was a case of resting their superstar. However, Tata Martino confirmed the dreaded news.

He said, “I don’t want to take any risks, but I imagine that he won’t be available for Saturday’s game.” Per the Inter Miami boss, Messi had an ‘overload‘ in his leg. However, this is not the first time this season, the soccer icon had an injury worry surrounding his leg.

In the first leg against Nashville SC, Lionel Messi was on the receiving end of a nasty tackle from MacNaughton. This caused his ankle to twist, and he injured his shin in the process. Fortunately, he only missed the following game against CF Montreal. But, the latest update paints a possibility that this previous knock must have relapsed.

How will Argentina fare without Lionel Messi? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.

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