Messi won't have ideal 2026 World Cup build-up after injury | OneFootball

The lead-up to the World Cup could hardly have looked more promising: 12 goals in 14 matches, seven assists, and even a new career record: becoming the fastest player to reach 100 goal contributions in a Major League Soccer regular season. But everything started to get complicated this Sunday, in Inter Miami’s last match before the start of the World Cup, when he felt discomfort in the back of his left thigh and asked to come off in the 23rd minute of the second half. Anyone else, perhaps, would have preferred not to play. But Messi’s competitive gene works differently, and he decided to play anyway even though there was little at stake: no matter what happened, the Herons would go into the break in second place in the Eastern Conference, still with 19 matches left to play, and their opponent was bottom of the table.

With hindsight, maybe he pushed himself a bit too hard: when it became known that Messi needed medical tests, it was clear that it was not just “fatigue”, as his coach, Guillermo Hoyos, had explained in the post-match press conference. The tests ended up confirming it: Lionel Messi has a minor muscle injury that, while not as serious as a tear, will force him to stop for around ten days, something that disrupts his preparation for the World Cup, including the friendlies on June 6 and 9, with the national team already based in the United States.

The first conclusion left by this setback is that Messi will not arrive at the World Cup in the condition he wanted. Along the way he did everything possible: even training separately alongside Rodrigo De Paul so that, just weeks before turning 39—he will celebrate it during the tournament, between the group-stage matches against Austria and Jordan—he could maintain his competitive rhythm at Inter Miami, raise the demands of a lesser league, and approach his sixth World Cup in the best possible way.

Throughout that journey he avoided speaking publicly about his presence at the tournament. He preferred to let time pass and assess how he felt in this final stage of the season, already with a good number of matches under his belt and full knowledge of his body. Especially after 2024 and 2025, when he struggled to maintain consistency with the national team: he totaled 16 appearances and nine absences, although only one—against Peru in the Copa América—was due to a decision by Lionel Scaloni, who that night chose to rest his starters.

Messi did not speak this time either. De Paul did, though, one of the voices closest to the captain within the squad: “I’m sure he won’t miss the World Cup. He’s our most important player, our captain, and a fundamental part of everything this team represents. For him, playing for Argentina is much more than football: it’s pride, responsibility, and passion.” In the end, the injury was not as serious as initially feared, although it appeared at the worst possible moment and in the middle of a context in which other important names are also dealing with issues that will keep them from arriving at full fitness.

Within that scenario, there is one factor working in the Rosario-born star’s favor: MLS has entered its break and will not resume until after the World Cup. So the next thing for Messi would be the friendlies with the national team in the United States: against Honduras in Texas and against Iceland in Alabama. Scaloni’s idea was to spread the minutes around and give everyone playing time, although the coach had already decided to take extra precautions with several players who are arriving at the decisive part of preparation less than fully fit.

Inter Miami released a medical report and confirmed that Messi is suffering from “an overload associated with muscle fatigue in the left hamstring”. It also clarified that “the time it takes him to return to physical activity will depend on his clinical and functional progress.” The condition can cause pain, stiffness, or discomfort when accelerating, stopping, or kicking. The captain will not need special treatment, although he will have to take a break of between one and two weeks so that the pain subsides and the muscle regains elasticity, stability, and responsiveness before being pushed again.

It is an area that had already caused him problems. In February of this year, Messi suffered a strain in that same muscle during a match against Barcelona in Guayaquil, a game in which he scored a goal and was substituted in the second half. As a result of that episode, he was only just ready for the start of the league season, in which Inter Miami lost 3-0 to Los Angeles FC. After that match, the Rosario native traveled to Puerto Rico for a postponed friendly against Independiente del Valle, where he ultimately played 45 minutes and scored from the penalty spot.

Since then, he has almost always been on the field. He was absent only in the 0-0 draw against Charlotte, when he rested before the FIFA international window, and he completed the full 90 minutes in 13 of his 14 MLS matches, in addition to the Concachampions round-of-16 series against Nashville.

While several players have already returned to the country, Messi chose to remain in Miami until he had a precise diagnosis and only then decide on the next steps. The player still has not publicly made official that he will play in the World Cup, although at this point it is hard to imagine a scenario without him in the tournament.

The list of 26 players who will compete in the World Cup will be announced in the coming days, while the coaching staff is already planning a short training camp in Ezeiza before the trip to the United States. If he does not take part in the friendlies, Messi would arrive for the opener against Algeria on June 16 having gone 23 days without competition, a period similar to that of much of the squad, since the world’s main leagues ended this weekend. But when it comes to a player of his age, each day carries a little more weight. And the calendar, inevitably, begins to play its own game.

The other injured players

Cristian Romero: in the final stage of rehabilitation after suffering a sprain to the medial collateral ligament in his right knee. If he does not play in the friendlies, he would arrive for the opener with more than two months without action.

Emiliano Martínez: recovering from a fracture in the ring finger of his right hand. Ruled out of the matches against Honduras and Iceland, he is targeting fitness for the opener against Algeria.

Marcos Acuña: on Sunday he asked to come off in the final between River and Belgrano. At Núñez they speak of a “tightness” in the right hamstring. If it is a tear, he would travel basically to continue recovering.

Gonzalo Montiel: is carrying a tear in the rectus femoris of his left leg and will be ready one week before the opener.

Nahuel Molina: on May 30 it will be three weeks since his tear in the right thigh. Available for the friendlies, though without the expected match rhythm.

Nicolás González: has put a muscle tear behind him and, despite his lack of rhythm, would be in the final squad.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.