Inter Miami Captain Lionel Messi will be set aside for an indefinite period of time with what the MLS team described as a “small muscle injury in his right leg” in a statement on Sunday.
The 38-year-old Argentinian legend sustained an early injury of the right range injury in Miami's home win at home on the Necaxa of Mexico on Saturday in a competition cup match.
Messi went outside in the 11th minute, but walked off the field and the dressing room.
Messi “underwent medical tests to evaluate the size of the muscle development he experienced”, which forced him from the competition, Inter Miami said in his statement.
“The results confirmed a small muscle injury in his right leg. His medical permission will depend on his clinical progress and reaction to the treatment.”
That means that there is no time schedule for a return by the Miami Talisman, who shares the MLS season leader with 18 goals and also has nine assists in 18 games.
Jordi Alba, who yielded an equalizer for Miami in the second half of the second half to set up the Penalty Shootout that the hosts won 5-4, said that Messi's early exit was “a huge sorrow for the whole team”.
Inter Miami is 12-4 with six drawn for 42 points, fifth in the Eastern Conference and eight points drift from League Pace-Setter Philadelphia but with three games in hand.
Every extensive absence would also be a big blow to Miami in the Leagues Cup, which Inter won in 2023 just after Messi arrived in South Florida.
Miami, which will organize Unam Pumas on Wednesday, is in second place on the MLS table to qualify for the Knockout phase of the Leagues Cup with five points and would achieve a quarter-final berth with a win.