Argentina captain Lionel Messi suffered a serious injury to his right during the Copa America 2024 Final against Colombia at the Hard Rock Stadium in Florida's Miami Gardens on Monday, July 15.
The incident took place in the 65th minute of the final when Messi twisted his right ankle while running at full speed. The 37-year-old was visibly in bad pain as he lied on the ground before limping towards the dugout and he was substituted by Nicolas Gonzalez.
Messi was crying inconsolably as he couldn't return to the field as the ankle was wrapped in ice. When he removed the ice from the ankle, it looked completely swollen and his pained expression was visible on his face. The legendary footballer couldn't walk as he was limping around the dugout.
After the video of Messi's swollen ankle went viral on social media, the fans were left in shock as the ankle looked quite swollen and had concern whether the Argentina star would come off the bench and continue to play for the team in the ultimate title clash against Colombia. However, Messi didn't return to play as he watched his Argentina players on the sidelines.
Here's how netizens reacted to Lionel Messi's swollen ankle
After Lionel Messi was substituted due to ankle injury, Lautaro Martinez led Argentina in the remaining minutes of the Copa America Final. The title clash went into extra time after neither of the sides scored a goal in 90 minutes of play. In the extra time, Argentina and Colombia continued to maintain their strong defense until Lautaro Martinez gave La Albiceleste a 1-0 lead in the 112th minute of the thrilling final.
Martinez was strongly assisted by Giovani Lo Celso and netted a goal to help the defending champion break the deadlock. With eight minutes left and five minutes of extra time in the final, Argentina continued to maintain their as they didn't let Colombia to equalize.
When referee blew the final whistle, Argentina successfully defended the Copa America triumph and shattered Uruguay's record of 15 titles to become the most successful team in the history of the tournament. Interestinly, Argentina didn't lose a single match throughout the recently concluded edition of Copa America.
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