Image: Barcelona legend Lionel Messi’s gruesome ankle injury from Copa América final | OneFootball

A photo of Lionel Messi has turned heads across social media in the early hours of Monday morning.

As much comes after the extent of the damage done to the 37-year-old’s ankle during Argentina’s meeting with Colombia was made clear.

Messi guided his country back into action in the early hours of Monday, with the Copa América title on the line.

When all was said and done, Argentina managed to retain their crown, courtesy of a solitary Lautaro Martínez strike deep into extra time.

The aforementioned Messi, however, had long departed proceedings by this point.

This came after the former Barcelona man, who appeared to be dealing with a whole host of fitness issues, was forced to finally succumb to an ankle problem.

And if ensuing photos of the injury are anything to go by, it is not difficult to see why…

As showcased below, Messi’s right ankle blew up like a balloon after the Inter Miami attacker made his way back to the bench during the 2nd-half.

His latest outing ultimately ended with tears of joy, but it could well be some time before we see Messi back on the pitch once more…

Conor Laird | GSFN