Lionel Messi had a objective and an help earlier than leaving the sport because of a leg damage as Inter Miami CF beat Nashville SC 3-1 within the second leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup round-of-16 matchup on Wednesday night time.
Inter Miami coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino stated after the sport that Messi will probably miss Saturday’s MLS match at D.C. United whereas the crew takes a cautious method to the celebrity’s damage.
– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, extra (U.S.)
“I do not wish to take any dangers however I think about that he will not be obtainable for Saturday’s sport,” Martino stated. “That is the one factor I can say about it now. We’ll have some checks quickly and we’ll see how he feels.”
Messi, who had rested throughout final Sunday’s 3-2 loss to CF Montréal, did not seem like injured as he walked off the sector to get replaced by Robert Taylor.
“Leo has a muscle overload in his proper leg. We do not wish to take any sort of threat with him,” Martino added. “We tried to see if he might final somewhat longer after halftime, but it surely was bothering him, so we most popular to take him out the sport.”
Earlier than being substituted within the fiftieth minute, the earliest that Messi has been subbed off within the second half of a match in his profession, the Argentina ahead assisted Luis Suárez within the eighth minute for the primary Miami objective and scored his fifth objective of the season to place his crew 2-0 forward.
“We knew when the season began that Messi was not going to play all video games,” Martino stated. “If he isn’t enjoying or we have now to interchange him, for me it isn’t simply lacking out another participant, he is the most effective participant of all time.”
After advancing with a 5-3 mixture rating, Miami will face the winner of the collection between Monterrey and FC Cincinnati within the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup on April 2.
The Related Press contributed to this report.