The Argentinian star was forced out of Saturday's match early after being tripped up just outside of the box

• Messi goes down with injury
• Forced out after just 11 minutes
• Miami continuing play in Leagues Cup

Get the MLS Season Pass today!Stream games now

• Getty Images Sport
  

  Table of Contents

  Toggle

  WHAT HAPPENED?

  Lionel Messi was left the game with an injury just minutes into Inter Miami's Leagues Cup clash with Necaxa on Saturday night.

  The Argentine star pulled up with an apparent leg injury in just the 11th minute after being tripped up running into the box. That injury left him down on the sidelines before he briefly underwent treatment. After a quick check, Messi walked straight down the tunnel and into the locker room, being replaced by Federico Redondo as Inter Miami switched tactics with Messi gone.

Advertisement

• Getty
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The injury came in the wake of league-wide discussions about Messi's workload, which led to him skipping out on the MLS All-Star Game. As a result, he earned a one-game suspension, prompting controversy as owner Jorge Mas hit out at the "draconian" MLS rules.

  Leading up to Saturday's Leagues Cup match, Messi had played a full 90 minutes 10 times since June 14. Included in that run were four games in the Club World Cup, five games in MLS, and the Leagues Cup opener against Atlas midweek. In total, Messi has played more than 2,500 minutes for Miami since the start of 2025, featuring across four different competitions, while also featuring twice for Argentina in June as well.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  DID YOU KNOW?

  Messi has dealt with several injury issues over the last few years, including a ligament injury that kept him out for two months last season. Earlier this year, Messi sat out of two Argentina games due to Adductor pain.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

• Getty Images
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR INTER MIAMI?

  Following Saturday's match against Necaxa, Inter Miami will be back for their third Leagues Cup match against Pumas on Wednesday. After that, the club is scheduled to visit Orlando City on Aug. 10.

Tags: Futebol
Category: News