Ahead of the World Cup, Argentian forward and 8-time Balon d’or winner, Lionel Messi raised further injury fears when he requested to be replaced during Sunday’s Major League Soccer match between Inter Miami CF and the Philadelphia Union.

The Argentina captain was substituted in the 73rd minute of the match, which was played in Miami’s rainy weather, when he seemed to grasp the back of his left thigh, as reported by BBC Sport on Monday.

Fears of a major issue were allayed when Messi left the ground without assistance and went directly down the tunnel.

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Guillermo Hoyos, the coach of Inter Miami, subsequently maintained that the choice was made for preventative reasons rather than because of an injury.

“As far as I know, we don’t have a [medical] report on that yet, but he really was fatigued,” Hoyos said after the game.

“He was tired; the pitch was heavy and when in doubt, the standard approach is always to ensure you don’t take any risks.”

The 38-year-old has yet to formally confirm he will feature for Argentina national football team at the upcoming World Cup, although he is widely expected to return for what would be a record-equalling sixth appearance at football’s biggest tournament.

Messi has carefully managed his workload since joining Inter Miami in 2023, but has still experienced periods on the sidelines with hamstring problems. Argentina are expected to closely monitor his condition before naming their squad for the tournament.