Lionel Messi injury to be evaluated ‘week by week’ – Martino

Lionel Messi's leg muscle injury will be assessed 'week by week', Inter Miami boss Gerardo 'Tata' Martino says after the Argentina star sat out Saturday's win at DC United .

It was the second consecutive MLS match that Messi missed. He was held out of Sunday's 3-2 loss to Montreal and was replaced early in the second half of Wednesday's 3-1 win over Nashville as Miami advanced to the quarterfinals of the Concacaf Champions Cup.

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Messi, 36, is expected to join the Argentina squad for two international friendlies in the United States, against El Salvador in Philadelphia on March 22 and against Costa Rica in Los Angeles four days later.

Messi's injury has to be treated week by week and we will evaluate it,” Martino said. “What is clear is that he has one objective, that of playing in the quarter-finals of Concacaf.

“He has a muscle injury. The question of selection is for the members of the national team to talk about.”

Martino said after Miami's victory against Nashville that Messi was suffering from “a muscle overload in his right leg.”

Miami will face Liga MX's CF Monterrey in the quarterfinals of the Concacaf Champions Cup, with the first leg at home on April 3 and the second leg in Mexico a week later. Before that, Miami will play an MLS match against New York City FC on March 30.

Without the injured Messi, Miami used two goals from Messi's former Barcelona teammate Luis Suárez to beat DC 3-1.

The Uruguayan started the match on the substitutes' bench before coming on in the 62nd minute with the score 1-1. He scored in the 72nd and 85th minutes to give Miami 10 points in five games to start the season.