Lionel Messi will miss two World Cup qualifiers after he was on Monday left out of the Argentina squad for games against Uruguay and Brazil because he reportedly suffered an injury in a club game the day before.
After missing three games for his club, Inter Miami, at the start of March with a pulled muscle, the 37-year-old Messi returned with a goal off the bench in a Concacaf Champions Cup win. He played a full 90 minutes and scored again in an MLS win in Atlanta on Sunday but, Argentinian media reported, then felt muscle discomfort.
Argentina, the defending World Cup champion, can ensure qualification for next year’s tournament in its two games in March.
It leads the 10-team South American qualifying group by five points over Uruguay and visits Montevideo on Friday before hosting Brazil in Buenos Aires four days later.
The top six teams qualify directly for the World Cup. The seventh-placed team is currently Bolivia with 13 points.
After 12 rounds, Messi is the top scorer in the competition with six goals. Argentina are also without injured Roma striker Paulo Dybala and River Plate fullback Paulo Montiel.
Brazil, will be without 33-year-old Neymar, who has suffered a thigh injury and has had to postpone his return to the national team, which sits in fifth place, seven points behind Argentina.
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