Lionel Messi sparked fresh concern over his World Cup fitness on Sunday night in Miami, asking to be substituted with a leg issue during Inter Miami's Major League Soccer match against the Philadelphia Union just weeks before Argentina begin their title defence.
The 38-year-old captain has been carefully managing his body since leaving European football and joining Miami in 2023, missing stretches of last season with hamstring problems. Those absences did little to dampen expectations in Argentina, where Messi is widely assumed to be preparing for one last World Cup push, even though he has never formally confirmed he will play at this summer's tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
