Leo Messi was forced to leave the field in the 64th minute of the Copa America final against Colombia, which left the Argentine legend in a state of desolation, devastated at the fact that he couldn’t help his team.
The image of Messi was poignant. The No.10 was in tears on the bench. With an ice pack on his injured ankle from the first half, with pain in his thigh… and with immense pain in his soul. Thankfully for him, however, his side went on to win the game in extra-time.
In the first half, Messi already had a scare when he was tackled by Santiago Arias. The action took place in the 35th minute of the first half when Messi was in the box, but could not prevent the ball from going over the touchline. Arias, who threw everything he had to try to deflect the cross, hit Messi‘s left foot just outside the box.
The Albiceleste captain was able to recover and rejoin the game and managed to finish the first half, which did not happen in the second half.
Later, television pictures showed us the state of Messi’s right ankle, which was badly swollen. The captain could hardly walk.