Messi ruled out of Argentina friendlies

Lionel Messi has been ruled out of Argentina’s next friendly in the United States with a hamstring injury, the Argentina Football Association announced on Monday.

The Inter Miami legend was scheduled to play for the world champions in friendlies against El Salvador in Philadelphia on Friday and Costa Rica in Los Angeles on March 26.

However, the 36-year-old Argentine skipper has yet to heal from a hamstring injury sustained during Miami’s 3-1 triumph over Nashville in the CONCACAF Champions Cup the previous week.

Messi, who was replaced shortly after halftime in the win over Nashville, did not play in Miami’s victory over D.C. United in Washington on Saturday.

“The captain of Argentina, Lionel Messi, will not be able to be in the squad for the friendlies in the USA due to a minor injury to the hamstring of his right leg suffered in his team’s match against Nashville SC,” the Argentine federation said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Miami coach Gerardo Martino intimated following his team’s win over Washington on Saturday that Messi might skip the March internationals to ensure his fitness for next month’s CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinals.

“It is clear that with him there is an objective that he can play in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup. We’re not going to take any risks,” Martino said.