[Official] "Messi Hamstring Injury" Son Heung-min and MLS' opening match "Crisis of No Companion"

*This content was translated by AI.

Son Heung-min (Los Angeles FC) and Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), who are also receiving a lot of attention in the U.S., are on the verge of collapse in the opening match of the 2026 Major League Soccer (MLS).

"Team captain Messi injured his left hamstring muscle during a recent match against Barcelona SC (Ecado) in Ecuador," the Inter Miami club said on the 12th (Korea Standard Time), adding, "Messi, who continued to suffer, eventually missed team training." While he was diagnosed with a hamstring injury through additional medical tests, the timing of Messi's return to training will be determined by the degree of recovery in the future, it was officially announced.

Messi's recovery pace should be watched in the future, but it is also unclear whether he will play in the MLS opener against Los Angeles FC, which is only 10 days away. Son Heung-min and Messi's first MLS showdown, which draws a lot of attention, is on the verge of a "failure."

The MLS secretariat expects it to be the best box office card to change the stadium between the two teams to the Memorial Coliseum rather than the BMO Stadium, LAFC's home stadium. BMO Stadium capacity is only about 20,000, but Memorial Coliseum has 77,500. It is the first time that an MLS game will be held at the Memorial Coliseum, and at the center of it was a showdown between Son Heung-min and Messi, the two top MLS stars.

Moreover, LAFC, which Son Heung-min belongs to, belongs to the Western Conference and Inter Miami belongs to the Eastern Conference. Different conference teams can only meet once on a regular league basis, so unless they meet in the future cup or playoffs, this opening game may be the first and last showdown of the season between the two teams. In the meantime, as the possibility of Messi's injury comes to mind, Son Heung-min and Messi's first MLS face-off may be delayed for another year.

On the other hand, Son Heung-min is in the midst of preparing for the new season in earnest by completing his pre-season schedule normally. Rather than participating in pre-season practice games, he is controlling his condition centering on team training. LAFC will play its first official match of the season at noon on the 18th through an away match between Real España (Honduras) and the North American Football Confederation (CONCACAF) Champions Cup. The MLS opener between LAFC and Inter Miami will then be held at 11:30 a.m. on the 22nd.

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*This content was translated by AI.