The Inter Miami captain appeared to tweak his right ankle ahead of the Leagues Cup semi-final clash against the Philadelphia Union.
William GittinsWillGittUpdate: Aug 15th, 2023 15:53 EDT
MEGAN BRIGGSAFP
Lionel Messi has made an explosive start to life with Inter Miami, but the Argentine World Cup winner sparked concern after appearing to pick up an injury on Monday.
Just one day before Miami face the Philadelphia Union in the semi-final of the Leagues Cup, their biggest game of the season so far, Messi was seen moving gingerly after tweaking his right ankle in training.
The 36-year-old has scored eight times in five Leagues Cup fixtures since making the move to Miami. If he were to miss tonight’s game, the Union would be confident of making it to the final.
The moment Lionel Messi suffered an injury scare in Inter Miami's latest training session 😨 pic.twitter.com/7PCd8YHXXl
— GOAL (@goal) August 15, 2023
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Messi’s unique talents make him irreplaceable, not only within the Inter Miami roster but across world football. Images of him stumbling over on his right ankle in training will have caused real concern for Inter Miami.
However head coach Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino downplayed suggestions that Messi could miss out of the crucial clash.
“I was only at a part of the session because I had a meeting afterwards and was finishing preparing, so I didn’t see exactly what happened,” Martino told reporters on Monday. “But if it was something serious, I’m sure everyone would have been shocked.”
