Argentine football sensation and God amongst men Lionel Messi has left fans, from the Major League Soccer to Mendoza, biting their fingernails in angst after he limped off the pitch for his club side Inter Miami this Wednesday.

Little over half an hour into the MLS game between Inter Miami and Toronto FC the World Cup winner was forced to hobble off the pitch.

Messi lovers all over the world will remember that moment in the World Cup final when the number 10 appeared to clench his hamstring. For a few seconds Argentina stood still, hearts dropped and many dreaded that the romantic script in their minds was about to be ripped up in front of their very eyes.

Luckily for Argentina and football lovers everywhere that wasn’t the case. It was but a scare for Leo Messi, who managed to dust himself down and lead his country to the grandest title of them all.

This isn’t the World Cup, but seeing the great one go off with an injury is still a painful sight for the football world watching on. Messi has vital games coming up for Miami as they look to secure their spot in the post-season MLS finals and Argentina have four vital 2026 World Cup qualifiers to manage in October and November.

Within just 24 hours of Messi’s arrival to Inter Miami over 110,000 new subscriptions to watch the MLS on Apple TV were made. When Lionel Messi scored his opening Inter Miami goal you could hear cries of joy in the streets of Buenos Aires. Make no mistake about it, Miami or Barcelona, Messi has a country behind him every time he sets foot on the pitch.

Lionel Messi clearly had a niggle when on international duty with Argentina last week. He scored a fantastic free-kick for Argentina as they defeated Ecuador 1-0 in Buenos Aires but a few days later he sat out their victory in the altitude of La Paz, Bolivia.

Messi therefore might not have returned to Miami at 100% fitness and so his early substitution shouldn’t come as a great surprise. His team did brilliantly in his absence. Finnish forward Robert Taylor replaced Messi and scored a brace as Miami defeated Toronto 4-0.

After the game Inter Miami coach Tata Martino had some calming words for Lionel Messi fans. He said the injury was “not a big thing, nothing stange.” Messi is unlikely to have suffered a severe knock or muscle injury with Martino suggesting that “fatigue” is probably the biggest issue for his captain at the moment.

Between now and the end of October Inter Miami have got six league games left to fight for points in order to reach the play-offs. Wayne Rooney’s D.C United currently hold the last play-off spot but Inter only trail them by five points and have played two games less.

Jordi Alba also limped off the field for Miami on Wednesday, so despite their recent form they will be trying to rush their two new stars back to fitness to make sure they make the knock-out stages of the MLS season. Don’t forget that before Messi’s arrival Miami sat rock-bottom in the MLS eastern conference table. He has transformed them.

Next week Inter Miami also have the U.S Open Cup Final against Houston Dyanmo to contend with. Whether or not that game will come too soon for Leo Messi remains to be seen, but he will be eager to get back in time to lift some more silverware with his new club after their Leagues Cup victory in August.