Inter Miami rally, win after Messi exits with apparent hamstring injury

FORT LAUDERDALE — Lionel Messi exited Inter Miami’s Leagues Cup match against Necaxa on Saturday night after suffering an apparent hamstring injury in the opening minutes.

Messi was running toward the penalty area between two defenders when he appeared to get tripped in the eighth minute. He fell to the ground and slammed his fist in frustration before walking toward midfield as play continued.

He then sat on the pitch near Inter Miami’s bench as trainers came and worked on his right upper thigh area for a couple of minutes.

He was subbed out in the 11th for Federico Redondo and immediately walked to the locker room.

Miami played down a man the rest of regulation.

Luis Suárez had the game-winning penalty kick, and Inter Miami rallied to beat Necaxa in the Leagues Cup.

Jordi Alba had the tying goal on a header the made it 2-2 in the second minute of stoppage time to force the shootout.

Inter Miami then converted all five of its penalty kicks, and goalkeeper Rocco Ríos Novo denied Tomás Badaloni in the third round of the shootout. Suárez hit the winning shot into the top left corner.

Telasco Segovia put his side ahead 1-0 minute after Messi exited on a feed from Inter Miami newcomer Rodrigo De Paul, who had two assists in just his second match with the club. It was Segovia’s second goal of the tournament.

Badaloni tied it at 1 on a shot that he tapped past Ríos Novo to the bottom left corner in the 33rd.

Ricardo Monreal put the Mexican club ahead on what looked to be the winning score in the 81st before veteran left back Alba snapped a header into the back of the net on De Paul’s free kick.

Messi has dealt with numerous hamstring injuries throughout his career and has missed time over the past couple of seasons dealing with various leg injuries — the most recent issue was with his left adductor, which sidelined him for a pair of Argentina’s World Cup qualifiers earlier this year.

It would seem likely that Messi will be further examined in the coming days, though it’s not yet known if or when he will undergo an MRI, which is typical for soft-tissue injuries.

Miami can only advance in the Leagues Cup — a tournament the Herons won in 2023 shortly after Messi’s arrival — if it scores enough goals to improve its current standing among other MLS clubs. Only the top four clubs in MLS and the top four in Liga MX will reach the knockouts.

Despite winning its opener 2-1 over Atlas on Wednesday behind Messi’s two assists, Miami is ninth in the tournament’s MLS standings because of goal differential.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer