Lionel Messi may sit out Argentina’s next Copa America game against Peru to rest a sore thigh with his team already qualified for the next round after two wins.
Messi, who turned 37 this week and has been suffering muscle niggles, required brief medical treatment on his thigh during Argentina’s 1-0 victory over Chile at the US-hosted tournament.
But he completed the 90 minutes, shaving the post with one long-range shot and was at the heart of Argentina’s attacks.
“It bothers me a bit, but I was able to stay on until the end. I hope it’s nothing serious … I wasn’t able to move properly because of the bother,” he said, acknowledging it might be wiser to sit out the Peru game on Saturday.
“Let’s see how the next few days go, how I recover. We’ve taken an important step to qualify and be relaxed. It’s a lot of games, a lot of travelling,” added Messi, saying he had also suffered from a sore throat and fever before the Chile game.
With a 2-0 win over Canada also under their belt, world champions and tournament favourites Argentina are looking comfortable in the early stages of the Copa America even if not at their scintillating best.
They top group A with six points, ahead of Canada on three after their victory over Peru.
Argentina are happy to have started the Copa with routine wins after the unwanted drama of their last major tournament when they opened the World Cup in Qatar with a 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia in one of the all-time shocks.
