MIAMI (AP) — Lionel Messi headed into the World Cup break a bit earlier than planned, and now it’ll be Argentina waiting to see if there’s an injury to worry about.Messi — who almost never gets subbed out of matches — left in the 73rd minute, meaning he was long gone before Luis Suárez’s third goal of the night lifted the defending MLS champions past the last-place Philadelphia Union 6-4 on Sunday night.Messi had two assists and Germán Berterame scored twice during a record-setting first half for Inter Miami. But Messi basically took himself out of play in the 71st minute and reached toward his left hamstring at least once, then didn’t even venture toward the Inter Miami bench when he could be subbed out.Messi was replaced by Mateo Silvetti, then left immediately through the tunnel connecting the field with the team’s locker room. Messi was walking under his own power, albeit slowly, and without any team medical personnel with him.
Rodrigo De Paul, on his birthday, scored in stoppage time to seal the win for Inter Miami.Heavy rain began falling early in the second half, causing some players to seem to slip on the turf. It wasn’t clear if Messi’s departure was precautionary or not, and it didn’t seem like he took any major missteps during the worst of the rain.
