May 12, (THEWILL) – Lionel Messi provided a major injury scare for football fans on Saturday night. The Argentine superstar briefly departed Inter Miami’s match at Montreal late in the first half after suffering an apparent left knee issue.
The incident occurred in the 40th minute when Messi was fouled near midfield by Montreal defender George Campbell. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner immediately went down clutching his knee in clear discomfort. Miami’s medical staff rushed onto the pitch to treat the 35-year-old, who was eventually able to walk unaided to the bench after a couple of minutes.
Remarkably, Messi was not substituted out, allowing him to return to action shortly after. He rejoined play with Miami trailing 2-1, though they swiftly pulled level at 2-2 by halftime through goals from Matias Rojas and Luis Suarez. Benjamin Cremaschi then netted the winner for Inter Miami in the 59th minute as they claimed a 3-2 victory.
The Montreal match marked Messi’s first-ever appearance in Canada after previously scoring in 31 other countries. With Messi now in Major League Soccer following his high-profile arrival last summer, Montreal completely sold out their 15,000 season tickets for the first time since joining MLS in 2012. Hundreds of fans also greeted Miami’s arrival at their hotel on Friday night.
The eventual extent of Messi’s knee issue remains unclear. However, his ability to resume playing and lead Inter Miami to victory provided major relief in avoiding what could have been a devastating blow for Miami and MLS itself in the middle of the season.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
