Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni confirmed the initial positive diagnosis of Lionel Messi’s hamstring injury but admitted it was a frustrating development so close to the World Cup.
Messi limped off clutching the back of his left leg during Inter Miami’s 6-4 win over Philadelphia on Sunday, leading to concerns that the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner’s participation at the tournament could be at risk.
Tests conducted by his Major League Soccer club suggested the problem was nothing more than “an overload associated with muscle fatigue in his left hamstring” and that it would not jeopardise his place at the global showpiece that starts on June 11.
Scaloni, who led Argentina to World Cup success in Qatar four years ago, was watching the game at the Argentinian Football Association headquarters and conceded there was obvious concern.
“We were watching the game on site and we realised that he had asked to be substituted, that it was not good,” he told DSports.
“The first news is not so bad. Logically, we preferred that nothing had happened to him. Now, we wait for how it evolves. I imagine they will do more tests to confirm if it is really is as they say.”
Argentina suffer injury worries before World Cup defence
Messi is just one of several Argentina players struggling for full fitness.
First-choice goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez fractured a finger prior to the Europa League Final between Aston Villa and Freiburg while Cristian Romero, Nahuel Molina, Gonzalo Montiel, Nico Paz and Nicolas Gonzalez are all fighting to be fit.
“We all wished Messi could have joined the squad fully fit, but that isn’t the reality,” Scaloni added. “It’s not just him; many players have yet to fully recover from injuries. Our main priority now is their rehabilitation to ensure they reach the World Cup in peak condition.”
Messi is highly unlikely to feature in either of Argentina’s warm-up games, against Honduras or Iceland, forcing Scaloni to call up several new faces for the matches in Texas and Alabama.
Goalkeeper Santiago Beltrán and winger Joaquín Freitas (both River Plate), midfielders Tomás Aranda (Boca Juniors) and Simón Escobar (Vélez Sarsfield), defender Ignacio Ovando (Rosario Central), and full-backs Nicolas Capaldo (Hamburg) and Agustín Giay (Palmeiras) will get the chance to impress and could even be included in the final World Cup squad that has to be confirmed by June 2.
“Regardless of the fact that they are young and we are looking at them as future national team players, we are calling them up because something could happen between the time the initial squad list is finalised and our first match,” Scaloni said. “That is a period during which we still have the window to make changes.”
Messi is not expected to visit Argentina before the tournament and will instead meet up with the squad at their base in Kansas City on June 1.
Argentina’s World Cup schedule
Messi’s issue occurred three weeks before Argentina’s opening match of the tournament against Algeria.
Should they win their group, Argentina’s last-32 match will be in Miami on July 3.
Argentina’s initial World Cup schedule looks like this. Kick-off times with an asterisk denote the previous day.
| Date | Opponents | BST | ET | PT | Venue |
| Tue, June 16 | Algeria | 02:00* | 21:00 | 18:00 | Kansas |
| Mon, June 22 | Austria | 18:00 | 13:00 | 10:00 | Arlington |
| Sat, June 27 | Uruguay | 03:00* | 22:00 | 19:00 | Arlington |
Lionel Messi stats, injury history
Two-time MLS Player of the Year Messi has produced a remarkable total of 12 goals and eight assists in 14 league matches this season.
With 116 goals in 198 appearances for Argentina, Messi has 60 more goals than the next-highest scorer for his country, Gabriel Batistuta.
Miami and Argentina have missed Messi for a total of 30 matches through injury since September 2023, most notably when he was ruled out for two months with an ankle injury suffered during Argentina’s win over Colombia in the 2024 Copa America final.
Who could Argentina replace Lionel Messi with?
While many regard Messi’s abilities as irreplaceable, the good news for Lionel Scaloni is that he has potent attacking options if the skipper is unavailable.
Scaloni has yet to name his squad for the finals but Julian Alvarez is likely to be a starter, having contributed 20 goals and nine assists in 49 appearances for Atletico Madrid this season, finding the net 10 times and setting up four goals across 15 games in the Champions League.
Lautaro Martinez scored 22 goals in 41 games for Inter and the likes of Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister, Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez and former Atleti schemer Rodrigo De Paul offer ample creative supply behind the forward line.
Argentina did, however, draw a blank in their last competitive match without Messi, losing 1-0 in Ecuador in World Cup qualifying in September.
