Lionel Messi injury scare: left leg kicked during Inter Miami game. Here's what we know.
Lionel Messi’s legendary left leg was kicked in the calf area by an opposing player, causing his left ankle to twist during Inter Miami’s 2-2 draw against Nashville SC in their Concacaf Champions Cup match Thursday night.
Messi suffered the injury in the 77th minute when he contested a pass from Nashville’s Lukas MacNaughton, whose right leg landed onto Messi’s after his kick.
It was a scary scene as Messi was writhing in pain for several minutes, and tended to by trainers while lying on the pitch.
Messi was seen smiling and appeared to be walking fine after the sequence, hydrating with a bottle of water and speaking to a Nashville player as he walked on the sideline before he re-entered and finished the match. Messi also received some treatment earlier in the match with a trainer massaging the back of his right leg above the knee.
“Leo finished the game. He’s tired. He’s fatigued. That’s why he was getting massages. But he is fine,” Inter Miami coach Tata Martino said after the game, in which Messi scored in the 52nd minute, and Luis Suárez scored a header in extra time.
Still, it’s a sequence that could see Messi sidelined for Inter Miami’s upcoming match Sunday at home against CF Montreal.
The match is a perfect candidate for Messi to rest, considering his workload amid a seven-game stretch with both Inter Miami and Argentina this month.
After the Montreal game, Inter Miami will face Nashville SC again on Wednesday in the second leg of their Champions Cup Round-of-16 matchup.
Inter Miami also had a road match against D.C. United on March 16.
Messi was also selected by Argentina to play in two Copa America warmups – March 22 vs. El Salvador in Philadelphia and March 26 vs. Costa Rica in Los Angeles – which puts him in the mix for seven matches in 21 days.
Messi’s Argentine commitments could cause him to miss Inter Miami matches on the road against New York Red Bulls on March 23, and home against New York City FC on March 30.