Messi exits Inter Miami's Leagues Cup match with apparent injury

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Lionel Messi exited Inter Miami's Leagues Cup match against Necaxa on Saturday night after suffering an apparent hamstring injury in the opening minutes.

Messi was running toward the penalty area between two defenders when he appeared to get tripped in the eighth minute. He fell to the ground and slammed his fist in frustration before walking toward midfield as play continued.

He then sat on the pitch near Inter Miami's bench as trainers came and worked on his right upper thigh area for a couple of minutes.

He was subbed out in the 11th for Federico Redondo and immediately walked to the locker room.

Miami went up 1-0 a couple minutes later on a goal by Telasco Segovia, which was assisted by Rodrigo De Paul.

Messi has dealt with numerous hamstring injuries throughout his career and has missed time over the past couple of seasons dealing with various leg injuries — the most recent issue was with his left adductor, which sidelined him for a pair of Argentina's World Cup qualifiers earlier this year.

It would seem likely that Messi will be further examined in the coming days, though it's not yet known if or when he will undergo an MRI, which is typical for soft-tissue injuries.

Miami can only advance in the Leagues Cup — a tournament the Herons won in 2023 shortly after Messi's arrival — if it scores enough goals to improve its current standing among other MLS clubs. Only the top four clubs in MLS and the top four in Liga MX will reach the knockouts.

Despite winning its opener 2-1 over Atlas on Wednesday behind Messi's two assists, Miami is ninth in the tournament's MLS standings because of goal differential.

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