Lionel Messi injury: What happened to Argentina superstar in Inter Miami vs Philadelphia game

Lionel Messi walked off the pitch in the 73rd minute of Inter Miami's 6-4 win over the Philadelphia Union on Sunday, heading straight to the locker room after grabbing his left thigh. The concern is real.

With MLS now pausing for the World Cup, the 38-year-old enters a critical recovery window before Argentina open their campaign against Algeria on June 16. Messi had already contributed two assists in a match that produced a league-record eight goals in a single half.

Will Lionel Messi be fit for Argentina's World Cup opener?

The immediate worry is the nature of the substitution. Messi felt discomfort near his upper left thigh following a free kick in the 70th minute, immediately signalled for a change, and was replaced by Mateo Silvetti.

He required no assistance leaving the field, which is something, but going straight down the tunnel suggests the medical staff wanted a prompt look.

For Argentina, the timeline is workable, if nothing worsens. Their first World Cup match is still three weeks away, and Lionel Scaloni has two warm-up friendlies before then, against Honduras on June 6 and Iceland on June 9. Those games give the coaching staff a clear gauge of where Messi stands before competitive football begins.

If he misses those, it is not catastrophic. If he misses June 16, it starts to matter.This is not unprecedented territory for Argentina either. Scaloni has managed Messi's minutes carefully over the years, and Messi himself came off injured in the 2024 Copa America final against Colombia. Argentina still won that night, 1-0 through Lautaro Martinez's extra-time goal. The team has proven it can function without him for stretches, but nobody wants to test that at a World Cup.What makes this moment a touch more layered is what Messi had produced before being withdrawn. Miami trailed 3-1 at one stage and eventually led 4-3 at half-time, before Milan Iloski's VAR-awarded penalty levelled it at four. Messi's cross set up German Berterame's opener, and his presence clearly influenced Miami's attacking shape throughout. Luis Suarez finished with a hat-trick, and Rodrigo De Paul added Miami's sixth.

But Messi setting up goals and then grabbing at a muscle with three weeks until a World Cup is exactly the kind of image that makes coaching staff go quiet.Entering the break, Messi has 12 goals and eight assists in just 13 MLS appearances this season. Argentina's next group stage games follow after Algeria, with Austria on June 22 and Jordan on June 27. The schedule allows some buffer. Whether Messi needs it depends on what the scans show.