Messi leaves Inter Miami match with possible injury

Lionel Messi departed Inter Miami’s latest match very, very early.

The Argentine superstar trudged off in the 37th minute of Miami’s Wednesday night clash with Toronto FC, with Robert Taylor replacing him.

The reason for Messi’s exit was not readily apparent. The Barcelona legend attempted to play a through ball for teammate Josef Martínez that was intercepted, and slowed measurably in the aftermath. After a few moments of slowly walking as Miami dropped into a defensive shape, Messi put his hands on his knees and stopped moving.

Within seconds, the ball went out, with Messi immediately walking to DeAndre Yedlin to hand over the captain’s armband before leaving the match.

Messi missed Miami’s last game on Saturday with what manager Gerardo “Tata” Martino called fatigue following the international break. During that window, Messi played in Argentina’s 1-0 win over Ecuador, but did not step on the field for a 3-0 victory at Bolivia.