The 2024 Copa América ended in smiles for Lionel Messi and the Argentine men’s national team. But after the celebrations, the main concern was Messi’s health. The Albiceleste captain was forced to bow out of the game in tears, with a visibly swollen ankle. The question on everyone’s minds was how soon he could return to action.
After the superstar captain had a medical evaluation, his team Inter Miami confirmed on Tuesday that he had suffered a ligament injury in his right ankle. “The captain’s availability will be determined by periodic assessments and the progress of his recovery,” they said.
Earlier that day, the Herons head coach Gerardo Martino confirmed that Messi had suffered an entorsis — an ankle injury resulting from a sharp turn. “[AFA and Inter Miami] kinesiologist Walter Insaurralde is keeping us informed,” he added. “But he’s being cautious until more studies are done.”
Messi was injured after rolling his right ankle chasing a ball in the 36th minute during the 2024 Copa América final. The Rosario native was seen limping around but managed to hang on for another 22 minutes until calling for a substitution in the 62nd minute.
In scenes that moved Messi fans across the world, the captain lay on his back with his face in his hands, and later broke into floods of tears as he took the bench. When the final whistle blew after an agonizing two hours, he was spotted cracking a smile, before limping around the locker room celebrations, to his teammates’ good-natured jokes.
The Argentine captain has been struggling with injuries since late 2023, when he was subbed off from an Albiceleste World Cup Qualifiers against Ecuador in September with a hamstring tear.