Lionel Messi was forced off with an injury just 11 minutes into Inter Miami’s dramatic Leagues Cup penalty shootout victory over Mexico’s Necaxa on Saturday at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.
The 38-year-old Argentine star appeared to receive treatment for discomfort in his upper right leg or groin before walking off under his own power and heading to the locker room.
Following Miami’s 5-4 win on penalties after a 2-2 draw, coach Javier Mascherano confirmed that the extent of Messi’s injury would be assessed on Sunday.
“He felt some discomfort, but we won’t know until tomorrow how severe it is,” Mascherano said. “It’s probably nothing major—he wasn’t in real pain—but he did feel a pull.”
Messi first went down after colliding with Necaxa defender Alexis Peña while dribbling into the box. Moments later, he sat down near midfield, visibly frustrated, before trainers attended to him. He was replaced by Federico Redondo.
Despite Messi’s early exit and a red card to defender Maximiliano Falcón in the 17th minute, Inter Miami battled back. Telasco Segovia opened the scoring in the 12th minute, but Necaxa’s Tomás Badaloni equalized in the 33rd. Both teams were reduced to 10 men after Cristian Calderón’s 60th-minute dismissal for Necaxa.
Ricardo Monreal put Necaxa ahead in the 81st minute, but Jordi Alba struck a stoppage-time equalizer to force penalties.
In the shootout, Rodrigo De Paul, Ben Cremaschi, Alba, Redondo, and Luis Suárez converted for Miami, with Suárez burying the decisive kick after Badaloni’s miss in the third round.
Messi, who has been dealing with thigh issues since Argentina’s March World Cup qualifiers, has scored 18 goals and provided nine assists in 18 MLS matches this season. He also assisted both goals in Miami’s 2-1 win over Atlas in their Leagues Cup opener last Wednesday.
Inter Miami, reigning Leagues Cup champions, conclude group play against Pumas on Wednesday.