Lionel Messi Sparks Inter Miami Injury Fears Ahead of Club World Cup | OneFootball

Just a matter of days before Inter Miami kick off the inaugural edition of the expanded Club World Cup, star forward Lionel Messi failed to finish Argentina’s qualifier against Colombia.

Naturally, this prompted fears over Messi’s availability against Egyptian giants Al Ahly, the first fixture of FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s pet project.

Argentina national team manager Lionel Scaloni revealed that Messi asked to be substituted without revealing precisely why. The talismanic captain started Tuesday’s 1–1 draw at River Plate’s Monumental Stadium before trotting off the pitch in the 78th minute.

By that point, the reigning world champions were already one goal and player down. Luis Díaz broke the deadlock in the first half with a dazzling individual effort before Chelsea’s Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernández received a straight red card for a high boot.

As Scaloni later explained, the decision to remove his nation’s greatest player of all time was taken by Messi himself. “Leo wasn’t going to come off, but he ended up coming off near the end,” the manager told assembled media after Thiago Almada rescued a point for Argentina.

“He [Messi] told me it was better for him to come off, and so we decided to change him. The good thing we always showed, with 10 men and without Messi, is that we kept looking, not giving up on a ball. That makes us very satisfied.”

The severity of the issue—if there was one—which forced Messi off is yet to be revealed. With Argentina’s World Cup qualification already secured, the decision could have been taken with his club duties in mind. Inter Miami’s group also consists of European outfit Porto and Brazilian powerhouse Palmeiras, ensuring that their opener against Al Ahly arguably represents the club’s best chance of winning a game this summer.