Messi, on the bench at Hard Rock Stadium, already injured (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Inter Miami confirmed that Lionel Messi “suffers from a ligament injury in his right ankle,” following evaluations by the Florida club’s medical team. The 37-year-old forward was injured in the first half of the Copa América final, which Argentina won 1-0 against Colombia at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. He came on to play the second half, but ended up asking to be substituted and burst into tears for not being able to assist the team in such a challenge. Images of his visibly swollen ankle went around the world.
“The captain’s availability will depend on periodic evaluations and the progress of his recovery,” Las Garzas concluded the statement, seeking to avoid speculation regarding the possible date of his return to the pitch. In a post made yesterday, the former Barcelona and PSG striker had sought to reassure his followers regarding his physical condition.
“The Copa America is over and the first thing I want to do is thank everyone for the messages and greetings. I’m fine, thank God, and I hope I can be back on the pitch soon, enjoying what I like to do the most,” he said on his Instagram account.
The moment when Messi twisted his ankle
Messi suffered a sprain when trying to take a cross in the first half of the shootout and then suffered contact with a foul by Santiago Arias. He came on to play the second half, but after trying to catch up with Luis Díaz on a counterattack, he was left lying down and asked to be substituted (he was replaced by Nicolás González). At the same time, he felt discomfort in his hamstring. Then, with a bandage on his ankle and mobility problems, he let his frustration flow on the bench and from there it exploded in the conquest of the Toro Martínez that led to the coronation and the Olympic lap.
The statement from Las Garzas
We will have to wait for the star’s evolution to determine when he will put on the Inter Miami jersey again, which will host Toronto on Wednesday and Chicago Fire on Saturday in Major League Soccer. Meanwhile, on July 27, that is, in 11 days, the series against Puebla for the Leagues Cup will begin in Mexico, a title that the Garzas won in 2023, with Leo as the great figure.
This is not the first time that the forward who came through Newell’s has received this diagnosis. In October 2006, he suffered a sprain in the external ligament of his right ankle after playing in a Clásico against Real Madrid that kept him off the pitch for a week. In September 2010, during a match against Atlético, the situation was worse as he had to be taken off on a stretcher after receiving a brutal blow from Thomas Ujfalusi, which resulted in a sprain in the internal lateral ligament of his ankle that kept him out for 15 days.
The length of the break, beyond comparisons, is unknown today, despite how much Las Garzas need their leader. To wear the Argentine national team’s jersey again, for its part, there is still a long way to go. The world and American champion will return to the field in September, for the 7th and 8th dates of the South American Qualifiers, which it leads with 15 points, the result of five victories and one defeat. On the 5th (date yet to be confirmed) it will receive Chile and on the 10th (also on a tentative date) it will visit Colombia, in a very close revival of Sunday’s final.
2024-07-16 21:36:35
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