Lionel Messi ruled out of World Cup qualifiers due to injury, to miss match vs Brazil-OxBig News Network

Legendary Argentina forward Lionel Messi will miss the upcoming South American World Cup qualifying matches against Uruguay and Brazil due to an apparent muscular injury, reported news agency AP on Monday, March 17. The 37-year-old Messi was not included in the 25-man squad announced by coach Lionel Scaloni.

Argentine media reported that Messi suffered a sore left thigh on Sunday during Inter Miami’s 2-1 victory over Atlanta United in Major League Soccer. However, the Argentine Football Association did not disclose the reasons for his absence.

Argentina, which leads the standings with 25 points, will visit second-place Uruguay on Friday and host fifth-place Brazil four days later at the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires.

Messi is not the only absentee for these crucial matches. Paulo Dybala, Gonzalo Montiel, and Giovani Lo Celso have also been ruled out. Coach Scaloni also dropped Alejandro Garnacho and Claudio Echeverri from the larger squad he announced on March 2.

World Cup winner Messi has been sidelined several times by Inter Miami this season due to injury concerns, according to his coach Javier Mascherano. Messi missed matches against the Houston Dynamo, Cavalier SC, and Charlotte FC earlier this month. He returned for the second leg of Miami’s round-of-16 CONCACAF Champions Cup tie against Cavalier SC on Thursday.

However, Mascherano confirmed that Messi was fit to start against Atlanta on Sunday, where he scored a goal in the 20th minute, just before reportedly sustaining his injury.