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Argentina captain Lionel Messi is set to miss his team's upcoming friendlies during the March international break.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup champions are set to take on El Salvador in Philadelphia on March 22 and Costa Rica four days later in Los Angeles. However, their captian won't feature in either game due to a hamstring injury.
As reported by ESPN, the 36-year-old injured his hamstring in the Herons' 3-1 CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16 second-leg home win last week. Messi opened the scoring inside eight minutes before his former Barcelona teammate Luis Suarez doubled Miami's advantage 15 minutes later.
Robert Taylor put the result beyond doubt midway through the second period, rendering Sam Surridge's stoppage time strike academic as Tata Martino's side completed a 5-3 aggregate win.
However, victory came at a cost, as Messi hobbled off with injury five minutes after half-time. Martino had said about the setback (as per ESPN):
"Messi's injury must be dealt with week by week, and we will evaluate it. What is clear is that there is a goal with him, which is to play in the Concacaf quarterfinals. He has a muscle injury. The selection issue is for the people of the national team to talk about."
ESPN have now reported that the Argentine won't feature in the friendlies later this month.
Messi missed the weekend MLS game, which the Herons won 3-1 at DC United, thanks to substitute Suarez's brace, to return to the top of the standings.
How has Lionel Messi fared for Argentina?
Lionel Messi has had a stellar career with Argentina, bagging 106 goals and 56 assists in 180 games, all three being record tallies for his country, since debuting in 2005.
He has won three senior titles with them - the 2021 Copa America, the 2022 Finalissima and the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Messi played a key role in their World Cup triumph, with seven goals and three assists in seven games to win the Golden Ball award.
He has scored thrice in five games in Argentina's ongoing FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifying campaign but didn't score in his last outing, a 1-0 win at Brazil in November.
