Lionel Messi to miss Argentina World Cup games, club sorry for mourning player who isn’t dead
Lionel Messi will Argentina’s World Cup qualifiers with same injury that marred Hong Kong trip. Bulgarian side apologises for minute’s silence
Lionel Messi will miss Argentina’s World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Brazil over the next eight days because of an injury to his adductor.
The 37-year-old was not included in the 25-man squad announced on Monday by coach Lionel Scaloni. Messi’s club, Inter Miami, said an MRI “confirmed the presence of a low-grade injury in the adductor muscle”.
Argentine media initially reported Messi suffered a sore left thigh on Sunday during Inter Miami’s 2-1 victory over Atlanta United.
The injury is the same one Messi blamed for being unable to appear during his side’s ill-fated visit to Hong Kong.
Argentina, who top South American qualifying, play second-placed Uruguay on Friday and host Brazil, who are fifth, four days later at Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires.
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Messi, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner who captained and led Argentina to the 2022 World Cup title, has been sidelined several times by Inter Miami this season because of injury concerns.