Messi ruled out of World Cup Qualifiers as Argentina name squad
Former Ballon D'or winner Lionel Messi will miss Argentina's World Cup qualifiers this week after suffering a groin strain.
37 year old Messi was injured during Inter Miami's victory over Atlanta at the weekend in Major League Soccer MLS.
Messi was consequently left out of Argentina's squad for the world champions' clash against Uruguay on Friday, followed by a highly anticipated clash with Brazil March 25.
Inter Miami confirmed in a statement Monday that Messi had suffered a low-scale injury but did not put a timescale on his return.
"Messi suffered a "low-grade injury in the adductor muscle" in the 2-1 win on Sunday. "His clinical progress and response to treatment will determine his availability for competition," Inter said.
Argentina, the defending World Cup champions, can secure qualification for next year's tournament in their next two games.
They lead the 10-team South American qualifying group by five points ahead of the game with Uruguay in Montevideo.
The top six teams qualify directly for the World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada. The seventh-placed team is currently Bolivia with 13 points.
Uruguay occupy second place with 20 points. Ecuador and Uruguay follow closely both with 19 points and then Brazil occupy fifth place with 18.
After 12 rounds, Messi is the top scorer in the competition with six goals. Liverpool's Darwin Nunez, who represents Uruguay follows with 5 goals.
Antonio Sanabria of Paraguay, Luis Diaz from Colombia, and Brazil's Raphinha all have four goals.
Argentina are also without injured Roma striker Paulo Dybala and River Plate full-back Paulo Montiel.
Argentina squad
Goalkeepers: Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa, ENG), Geronimo Rulli (Marseille, FRA), Walter Benitez (PSV Eindhoven, NED).
Defenders: Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid, ESP), Leonardo Balerdi (Marseille, FRA), Cristian Romero (Tottenham, ENG), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica, POR), Nicolas Tagliafico (Lyon, FRA), Facundo Medina (Lens, FRA), Juan Foyth (Villarreal, ESP), German Pezzella (River Plate)
Midfielders: Leandro Paredes (Roma, ITA), Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool, ENG), Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid, ESP), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen, GER), Maximo Perrone (Como, ITA), Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea, ENG), Giuliano Simeone (Atletico Madrid, ESP), Benjamin Dominguez (Bologne, ITA), Thiago Almada (Lyon, FRA)
Forwards: Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan, ITA), Julian Alvarez (Atletico Madrid, ESP), Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid, ESP), Nicolas Paz (Como, ITA), Santiago Castro (Bologna, ITA), Nicolas Gonzalez (Juventus, ITA).