Lionel Messi ruled out of Argentina friendlies due to hamstring injury

Argentina Football Association confirms Lionel Messi's absence from upcoming friendlies in the United States as the Inter Miami star continues to recover from a hamstring injury sustained during a recent match.

Argentina Football Association confirmed on Monday that Lionel Messi will miss the upcoming friendlies in the United States due to a hamstring injury. The Inter Miami superstar was set to play for the world champions against El Salvador in Philadelphia on Friday and Costa Rica in Los Angeles on March 26. However, the 36-year-old Argentine captain has not recovered since tweaking his hamstring during Miami's 3-1 victory over Nashville in the CONCACAF Champions Cup last week.

Messi, who was substituted just after half-time in the match against Nashville, also sat out Miami's win over D.C. United in Washington on Saturday.

"The captain of Argentina, Lionel Messi, will not be able to join the squad for the friendlies in the USA due to a minor injury to his right hamstring suffered in his team's match against Nashville SC," stated the Argentine federation in a post on social media.

Miami coach Gerardo Martino suggested after Saturday's victory that Messi might miss the March internationals, emphasizing the team's priority to ensure his fitness for next month's CONCACAF Champions Cup quarter-finals.

"It is clear that with him there is an objective that he can play in the quarter-finals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup. We're not going to take any risks," Martino affirmed.