Inter Miami said Lionel Messi left the team’s last match early due to an overload tied to muscle fatigue in his left hamstring. The club did not set a return date after he requested a substitution in the 73rd minute against the Philadelphia Union on May 24.
Lionel Messi’s night ended before the final whistle.
Inter Miami provided an injury update on Monday, May 25, after the soccer icon exited the team’s last match early. In a statement, the club said Messi suffered “an overload associated with muscle fatigue in his left hamstring.”
The team did not say how long he may be sidelined. Instead, Inter Miami laid out a cautious line on timing: “The timeline for his return to physical activity will depend on his clinical and functional progress.”
That update came after Messi appeared to call for help during Inter Miami’s rainy match against the Philadelphia Union on Sunday, May 24. He asked for a substitution in the 73rd minute, shortly after grabbing his leg.
Inter Miami manager Guillermo Hoyos described the moment in plain terms after Inter Miami’s 6-4 win. “He’s tired,” Hoyos told the media. “Fatigue. He was tired. The field was heavy, right? When faced with doubt, you always try not to take risks.”
The match against Philadelphia was Inter Miami’s last game before the break for the 2026 World Cup. Messi’s participation remains a central question because the tournament. which kicks off in June across the United States. Mexico and Canada. is expected to be his sixth World Cup appearance. Messi won his first World Cup in 2022. a milestone that capped a career often placed among the greatest of all time.
Whether this hamstring overload changes his World Cup preparation will hinge on how his left hamstring responds as he progresses clinically and functionally—exactly how Inter Miami framed it when it declined to put a number on his return.
Lionel Messi Inter Miami injury update left hamstring fatigue Philadelphia Union 2026 World Cup Guillermo Hoyos