Argentina suffer blow as Lionel Messi's teammate pulls out of Uruguay and Brazil matches with injury
Lionel Messi and Argentina will be without AS Roma star Paulo Dybala for their FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Brazil due to injury. The 31-year-old forward pulled out of the squad for the games after sustaining a thigh injury at the weekend.
Cameras caught Dybala fighting back tears after he was forced off the pitch just 11 minutes after coming on as a substitute for Roma against Cagliari. The former Juventus man has had his fair share of injuries throughout his career, and Dybala knew he had picked up a quite serious problem.
Scans have shown that the Argentina international injured the semitendinosus tendon in his left thigh, and will be out for at least a month. He had been included in the Argentina squad for the games against Uruguay and Brazil, but will not be part of the group for those games.
Paulo Dybala has been in fine form this season, having been left out of the Copa America squad last summer. The forward has scored eight goals and provided four assists in 36 appearances across all competitions for the Giallorossi this season, and is now set to miss most of the remainder of the campaign.
Dybala missed out on the Argentina squads for October and November's internationals earlier this campaign through injury and has been ruled out for a third successive time. Lionel Messi and company will have to navigate their way past the pair of heavyweights without 'La Joya', as Dybala is fondly called.
Lionel Messi proves readiness for Argentina duty with goal for Inter Miami
Inter Miami and Argentina captain Lionel Messi showed that he is without any physical problems by scoring for the Herons in their 2-1 win over Atlanta United. The 37-year-old made his first start in five games and scored a goal to help his side extend their fine start to the campaign.
Having been left out for successive games against Houston Dynamo, Cavalier SC, and Charlotte FC, questions began to emerge about Messi's fitness. Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano fielded the former Barcelona star in the second half of a 2-0 win over Cavalier SC last time out before naming him from the start at Atlanta.
Lionel Messi scored a first-half equalizer for his side, making a trademark slalom through the Atlanta United defense before chipping goalkeeper Brad Guzan from just outside the six-yard box. Having also scored against Cavalier SC after coming off the bench, Messi made it two goals in as many games for his side ahead of teaming up with Argentina.
