A new picture has revealed the true extent of the damage to Lionel Messi’s ankle after the Argentina star suffered a nasty injury during the Copa America final.
The Inter Miami forward emotionally exited the field in the 64th minute after suffering a non-contact injury while running as Argentina defeated Colombia 1-0 for its record 16th Copa America title.
Messi immediately looked toward the Argentina bench as he went to the ground. He remained down for several minutes as medical staff came out. He was helped to his feet and immediately took his boot off his right foot.
As he walked off the field, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner took off his captains armband and threw his boot to the ground in frustration. An emotional Messi was then shown covering his face, sobbing in his seat.
A new picture has shown the incredible swelling around Messi’s right ankle that had ballooned in size while he sat on the bench. He was later seen icing it but it appears he could be set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
A new picture has revealed the true extent of the damage to Lionel Messi’s ankle
Messi, in what could be his final performance with Argentina, was taken off in the 65th minute
Messi was seen icing his ankle on the bench immediately but the swelling looked to be severe
Messi also appeared to be limping after the game but was apparently in good spirits.
He clapped and laughed and lifted the trophy with teammates Nicolas Otamendi and Angel Di Maria.
‘We were able to win for him,’ Di María said, ‘give him the joy.’
Making his 39th and possibly last Copa America appearance, Messi had one goal in the tournament. He went down in the 36th minute after his left ankle was caught by Santiago Arias but walked back onto the field three minutes later.
Messi had been dealing with a leg injury and discomfort through much of the tournament and missed Argentina’s group stage finale. He had one shot attempt in the first half Sunday.
The final at the Miami Dolphins’ Hard Rock Stadium was delayed more than an hour because of terrifying crowd issues that saw fans breaching security gates.
Videos posted on social media showed fans jumping over security railings near the southwest entrance of the stadium and running past police officers and stadium attendants.
Screams could be heard in the background as people were crushed because of the huge congestion caused by the chaos.
Police detain a fan of Colombia during the CONMEBOL Copa America 2024 Final match
Panicked fans try to gain entry into the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami amid Sunday’s chaos
Fans of Colombia and Argentina try to pass the gate amid massive disturbances
A handful of people could be seen receiving medical treatment and asking for water in the sweltering South Florida heat.
Officers were able to push the crowd behind the gates and lock down the entrance so that no one could get inside, although plenty of fans with tickets had already made it to their seats before then.
Security initially appeared to open gates slightly to allow only a handful a fans in at a time, while other angry attendees pushed against the railings.
After reclosing the gates, security began letting fans in slowly around 8:10pm, with the new kickoff time set for 9:15pm but the commotion did not stop.
Fans again broke through the railings, so many filing in that security scanners rocked back and forth from the force.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and chief public safety officer James Reyes released a statement during the game saying the county assigned more than 550 police officers to the stadium detail, plus other personnel from neighboring departments.
‘Let’s be clear: This situation should have never taken place and cannot happen again,’ read the statement.
‘We will work with stadium leadership to ensure that a full review of tonight’s events takes place immediately to evaluate the full chain of events, in order to put in place needed protocols and policies for all future games.’
