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Lionel Messi has been ruled out of Inter Miami’s Leagues Cup knockout match against Columbus, as confirmed by coach Gerardo Martino. Messi, who has been sidelined with a right ankle injury, sustained the injury a month ago during Argentina’s 1-0 win over Colombia in the Copa America final. Since then, Messi has not trained with his Miami teammates and is still recovering.
The Leagues Cup, a competition featuring MLS and Liga MX clubs, saw Messi play a key role in helping Inter Miami secure last year’s inaugural title. However, he will miss the match against Columbus Crew, the reigning MLS champions which is one of the eight round of 16 games to be played on Monday and Tuesday. The pairings for the quarter-finals will therefore be as follows depending on the result of the above matches.
The 16 begins with the Seattle Sounders tackling Mexico’s Pumas, the team against which they lost in the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League final. Some of the highs include Philadelphia v Cincinnati, Cruz Azul v Mazatlan, Tigres v New York City FC, Toluca v Colorado, Club America v St. Louis, and San Jose v Los Angeles FC.
