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Inter Miami superstar Lionel Messi during the first half of Wednesday’s game against Toronto FC at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
CNN –
Lionel Messi’s return to the pitch was short-lived after the Argentine superstar was substituted in the 37th minute of Inter Miami’s match against Toronto FC at the DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Wednesday.
Just minutes after his teammate Jordi Alba was substituted with an apparent injury, Messi appeared unwell. He then took off the captain’s armband and placed it on Deandre Yedlin before leaving the game himself.
Messi returned to the bench, where he leaned back in the chair, clearly frustrated. He later went to the dressing room with eight minutes of injury time remaining in the first half.
“They had to get out. We will evaluate them as the days go by,” Inter Miami head coach Tata Martino said when asked about Messi and Alba on the Apple TV broadcast at half-time.
CNN has reached out to the team for more details.
Inter Miami would defeat Toronto FC 4-0.
Wednesday’s game was the first time Messi played since September 7, when he helped lead Argentina to victory over Ecuador in a 2026 World Cup qualifier.
Messi missed the club’s regular-season MLS game against Atlanta United last weekend.
A club source told CNN that the decision was made to rest the Argentine World Cup winner because of the number of games he has played since signing for the club in July. The turf field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta did not play a role in the decision, the source said.
Inter Miami’s next scheduled game is against Orlando City SC on Sunday. The team will then host Houston Dynamo FC in the US Open Cup final on September 27th.