The captain of the Albiceleste had been showing discomfort, but the pain in the right adductor worsened after a blow from Gabriel Suazo at 23 minutes

The alarm bells rang for the Argentine national team in the first half of the match against Chile in the second round of Group A of the Copa América . The striker, who is just 37 years old, had been feeling discomfort with the response of his right leg, but the discomfort worsened at minute 23. At that moment, lying on the right side, he suffered a foul by Gabriel Suazo and as he fell he began to show signs of pain. He was immediately attended to by the Albiceleste medical team and remained on the field, although he was seen stretching and touching the sore area on more than one occasion until the end of the first half.

Daniel Martínez and his team worked on Messi’s adductor for a few moments in which he left the playing field and uncertainty reigned. Even during that pause, he exchanged some words with coach Lionel Scaloni . But the Inter Miami striker returned to the field. He took advantage of each stop to stretch or test how his leg was, like when referee Andrés Matonte stopped the actions so that the aforementioned Suazo could be assisted after a brush with Rodrigo De Paul.

Perhaps the most worrying moment occurred at 30′, when he led a counterattack without second gear, the ball was stolen from him and he was once again seen to be upset. But when they looked at him continuously from the bench waiting for some gesture, Messi re-emerged. At 35, he took a low left foot shot that ended up hitting the post of the fence defended by Claudio Bravo (whom he greeted with affection before the fight, in honor of the times they shared in Barcelona).

Then, he expertly emerged from the harassment and the play led to Nahuel Molina’s spicy center, which Erick Pulgar rejected and almost ended up putting into his own goal. Furthermore, La Pulga took charge of the set pieces without any major inconvenience. He even got annoyed with the judge’s permissiveness and argued with him when the Uruguayan declared the end of the stage.

Despite the doubts, Messi came out to play the complement. At 4′ he assisted Nahuel Molina, who took a furious shot that managed to be rejected by Bravo, in the clearest situation for the defending champion. And at 56 he accurately executed a cross for the entry of Alexis Mac Allister, who failed to connect with power and direction in a good position to convert. In the epilogue, he attempted an Olympic goal that the Red goalkeeper avoided. And he executed the cross that led to Lautaro Martínez scoring.

It is worth remembering that in the World Cup he played with obvious discomfort starting in the semifinal against Croatia, in which in the first half, after a blow, he felt a puncture on the back of his left thigh. And the consecration in the Copa América 2021 was not without anxiety.

The thing is that he played with a muscular overload in his left hamstring in the last two games: the semifinal against Colombia and the final against Brazil . In other words, the captain arrived with just enough physical strength to the final stretch of the contest and ran the risk of suffering a tear in the two most demanding clashes that the Albiceleste team had. To that we must add the kick that Frank Fabra gave him in the semifinal and that made him play with blood on his left ankle from three minutes into the second half. Sore and on the verge of a muscle injury, Messi was seen walking with difficulties in the final stage against Colombia. “We know that Leo played the semi-final and final with physical inferiority. He made a very big effort and reached the limit at the close of the Cup. Against Colombia we saw him touch the back of his left leg more than once but he didn’t want to leave for anything in the world,” one of the players then told Infobae . Scaloni’s most trusted people.

THE PHOTOS OF MESSI’S DISCOMFORT THAT WORRIED THE NATIONAL TEAM