A wild matchup between Inter Miami and Philadelphia Union took a turn in the second half, with Miami captain Lionel Messi leaving the game early and immediately heading into the locker room.
Messi took a free kick and immediately grabbed at the back of his leg; he then asked for a sub and exited the game in the 73rd minute. The severity of any potential injury is currently unclear, but it appears that Messi went back into the locker room for treatment.
Sunday’s game had one of the wildest first halves in MLS history, with Inter Miami and Philadelphia entering halftime tied 4-4. The Union went up 3-1 in the 20th minute after an early patch of goals, but goals from Germán Berterame and Luis Suárez gave Miami a slight lead. Milan Iloski ended with a first-half hat trick, after scoring a second penalty kick in first-half stoppage time to tie the game.
With all the goals and the penalties, that first-half stoppage time was particularly long. There was a brief stoppage as the referee’s shoe completely broke apart.
The two teams stayed scoreless for much of the second half. But shortly after Messi exited, Suárez completed a hat trick with a go-ahead goal in the 81st minute. Rodrigo dePaul then added another in stoppage time to give Miami a 6-4 win.
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The result ties four other games for the second-highest scoring game in MLS history, with 10 total goals.
Sunday marks Inter Miami’s final game before MLS pauses for the World Cup. Messi is expected to return as Argentina’s captain as the reigning champions prepare to defend their title, though the final roster has yet to be announced ahead of FIFA’s June 1 deadline. Messi has not indicated whether he will play in what would be a sixth World Cup
Postgame, Inter Miami head coach Guillermo Hoyos said that they don’t have more information on Messi’s potential injury at this time, but that they “didn’t want to risk anything” by keeping him out there, via The Athletic’s Tom Bogert.