Due to a hamstring injury, Lionel Messi will not be playing for Argentina in their next friendly in the United States, the Argentina Football Association said on Monday.
The superstar from Inter Miami was scheduled to start for the world champions in a friendly match against El Salvador on Friday in Philadelphia, followed by a match against Costa Rica on March 26 in Los Angeles.
The 36-year-old Argentine captain, however, has not fully recovered from a hamstring injury during Miami’s CONCACAF Champions Cup win against Nashville last week, 3-1. Messi did not play in Miami’s win against D.C. United in Washington on Saturday. Messi was substituted just after halftime in the win against Nashville.
The Argentine federation said on X, “The captain of Argentina, Lionel Messi, will not be able to be in the squad for the friendlies in USA due to a minor injury to the hamstring of his right leg suffered in his team’s match against Nashville SC.”
Following his team’s victory against Washington on Saturday, Miami coach Gerardo Martino suggested that Messi might miss the March internationals to ensure he would be fit for the CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinals the following month. The coach said, “It is clear that with him there is an objective that he can play in the quarter-finals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup. We’re not going to take any risks.”
