Lionel Messi is not expected to play for Argentina during their final Copa América group stage match against Peru on Saturday in Miami, according to ESPN’s Lizzy Becherano.
The Argentina star suffered a right thigh injury during their 1-0 win over Chile on Tuesday night. Messi was seen getting treatment on the sideline in the first half and also disclosed after the game he was dealing with right hamstring discomfort.
“I started the game playing with discomfort, I wasn’t completely loose,” Messi said. “I didn’t feel a sharp pain or anything like that, but it did get stiff. It was hard for me to move freely, and it was a bit uncomfortable.”
Messi, who turned 37 on Monday, has played all 180 minutes during Argentina’s two wins, putting them atop Group A and already through to the knockout portion of the tournament.
He did not take part in Argentina’s training session on Thursday and head coach Lionel Scaloni already said after the Chile match that changes were in order for his lineup against Peru.
“We are satisfied, and we can enjoy the days, and give the youngest ones minutes,” Scaloni said. “I think it’s fair to have the players that did not have minutes get onto the pitch.”
Canada plays Chile in the other Group A match on Saturday.
Should Argentina, as expected, hold on to the top spot in the group, they will move on to face the second-place team in Group B, which could be any of Venezuela, Ecuador, Mexico, or Jamaica depending on how their results go on Sunday.
Source Agencies
