Argentina national football team captain Lionel Messi will miss at least two games of the Major League Soccer (MLS) for his side Inter Miami due to his ankle injury. Messi twisted his ankle in the final against Colombia on July 15. (More Football News)
Miami coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino said that Messi suffered a ligament injury in his right ankle, and his availability will be assessed periodically as rehab progresses.
Inter Miami will host Toronto FC on Wednesday night and Chicago on Saturday night.
The 37-year-old Messi tearfully exited Argentina's 1-0 win over Colombia in Sunday's Copa America final after going down in the 64th minute.
He immediately looked to the Argentina bench and was down for a couple of minutes before taking off his right boot and walking slowly off the field. He was then shown covering his face, sobbing in his seat. Cameras later showed him on the bench with a badly swollen right ankle.
However, Messi said that he was doing well in an Instagram post posted on Monday and hoped to return soon. The 37-year-old has remained in Miami where the final was played, to get treatment on his ankle whereas his teammates celebrated the Copa America success.
Messi lifted Argentina's third consecutive major trophy after winning the Copa in 2021 and the World Cup in 2022.
This was also La Albiceleste's 16th Copa title. "We are a team and also a family, a spectacular group," Messi wrote on his social media account. "Thanks to everyone who supported us, this national team has a lot of present and a lot of future too."