Lionel Messi scored a goal on Wednesday to help Inter Miami advance in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, but it might have come at a price.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner exited in the 50th minute of Miami’s 3-1 victory over Nashville SC in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., due to a glute injury that could keep him out of the Herons’ road match against D.C. United on Saturday.
“He is overloaded in the right posterior,” Miami coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino said, according to Major League Soccer’s website. “We don’t want to run a risk. We tried to see if he could go for a little longer, but it was bothering him, so we preferred for him to just get out of the game.”
Looking ahead to the contest in Washington, Martino said, “I don’t want to risk it, but I imagine that for Saturday’s game, he is not going to be available. We’ll have an evaluation and see some imaging, and we will see how he progresses.”
Messi scored in the first half of Miami’s victory over Nashville that wrapped up a 5-3 aggregate win. The Herons sealed a spot in the CONCACAF Champions Cup’s quarterfinals, where they will face either FC Cincinnati or Mexico’s Monterrey.
If Messi is sidelined on Saturday, he would miss a second consecutive MLS regular-season match. He was rested last weekend as Inter Miami lost 3-2 to visiting CF Montreal, with Martino acknowledging the team must be careful with the 36-year-old star’s workload.
–Field Level Media
