Inter Miami and Argentina attacker Lionel Messi has emerged as an injury doubt for the World Cup winners' upcoming friendlies with El Salvador and Costa Rica.
The 36-year-old remains as prolific as ever and has begun the 2024 season with five goals and two assists from five games for the Herons across MLS and CONCACAF Champions Cup matches.
Messi has had a direct hand in a goal in all of Inter Miami's matches so far this year, scoring one and setting up another for Luis Suarez in a 3-1 Champions Cup beating of Nashville on Thursday, which sealed a 5-3 aggregate win in the last 16.
However, the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain winger was brought off on the 50-minute mark with an apparent leg injury, and head coach Tata Martino does not expect him to be fit for Saturday's MLS showdown with DC United.
"I don't want to take any risks but I imagine that he won't be available for Saturday's game. That's the only thing I can say about it now," Martino told the press.
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"We'll have some tests soon and we'll see how he feels. Leo has a muscle overload in his right leg. We don't want to take any kind of risk with him. We tried to see if he could last a little longer after half time, but it was bothering him, so we preferred to take him out of the game.
"We knew when the season started that Messi was not going to play all games. If he's not playing or we have to replace him, for me it's not just missing out any other player, he's the best player of all time."
As Inter Miami fans wait with bated breath to hear the latest on Messi's condition, Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni will also be casting a watchful eye over the situation as the World Cup holders prepare for their return to friendly duty.
The Biancocelesti play their first game of the year against El Salvador at Lincoln Financial Field on March 22, four days before tackling Costa Rica in an exhibition match in Los Angeles.
Messi was unsurprisingly summoned for Argentina duty at the start of the month, but a question mark is now hanging over the head of the 36-year-old's participation in March's fixtures.
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The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner is the all-time leading goalscorer and appearance-maker for his national team, contributing 106 goals in 180 appearances since making his senior debut in 2005, where he was sent off after just two minutes.
Messi scored in eight successive international matches from December 2022 to September 2023, but he failed to register in either of November's World Cup 2026 qualifiers against Uruguay or Brazil.
Assuming he is fit enough, the attacker will be expected to captain Argentina in this year's Copa America and has also left the door open to competing at the 2026 World Cup, during which he will celebrate his 39th birthday.
Messi's record for Inter Miami already reads 16 goals and seven assists from 19 matches in all tournaments, as the Herons sit top of the Eastern Conference table with seven points from their first four games in 2024.
Ben Knapton
