分类： sports

In a startling revelation that lays bare the messy behind-the-scenes chaos of top-tier Australian rules football, Essendon’s star veteran Zach Merrett has shared that news of head coach Brad Scott’s dismissal reached him via an unexpected source: a random stranger at a neighborhood coffee shop, before the club officially notified its playing group.

Merrett was quietly drafting training notes over a morning brew at a cafe near Essendon’s headquarters this Tuesday when the unknown patron approached him with the bombshell announcement. While club executives formally confirmed Scott’s termination soon after Merrett arrived at the facility, the six-time best and fairest winner says the unorthodox reveal left him stunned.

Scott’s departure from the Bombers came after a dismal 12-month stretch that has left the club languishing at the bottom of the AFL ladder. The coach was let go Monday night, following a run that saw Essendon secure just one victory from 24 matches dating back to the middle of the 2025 season. The 2026 campaign has been equally underwhelming, with the side holding a 1-10 win-loss record halfway through the regular season.

For Merrett, who served as captain for three of Scott’s four years at the helm, the coaching exit is a somber turning point for the club. “It’s always really difficult when you spend four years with someone, anyone, but particularly the head coach,” Merrett explained during an appearance at Sapporo Premium Beer’s 150th birthday celebration at Melbourne’s Rising Festival. “You spend a lot of time together… so it’s a sad moment and I’m more so thinking of him and his family. It’s a pretty stressful role for anyone in that position around the competition, so I hope he’s holding up all right.”

Merrett’s own future at Essendon has been the subject of intense speculation since the end of the 2025 season, when he stepped down from the captaincy after a failed attempt to engineer a trade to Hawthorn. The club blocked the move, holding Merrett to his existing contract, which keeps him tied to Essendon until the end of the 2027 season. When asked whether Scott’s departure would change his plans long-term, Merrett said it was too early in the process to make any definitive calls.

“Yeah, it’s probably all so raw right now, I’ll have a bit of time and space to reflect and think through that in the not-so-distant future,” he said. “But for now, to be honest, it’s about getting through the day… gather your thoughts and then make sure the young boys are focused on the game. There’s a game in five days’ time we want to perform in, I want to perform in, so making sure there’s no distractions. That (decision) will happen in time, for now I just feel like I need to hold my end of the bargain, make sure I am trying to lead these young boys through this weird phase.”

As a seasoned player who has now experienced five separate coaching changes throughout his tenure at Essendon, Merrett is leaning on that experience to steady the young playing group through the transition. He emphasized that players bear responsibility for their own on-field performance regardless of off-field front office decisions.

“Unfortunately I’ve been through this maybe five times now,” he said. “Not to make excuses, we’re paid to perform as players, we’re not on the board, we’re not there to make those decisions. We need to look after our own backyard so to speak, and perform and play our role. For me, it’s not getting distracted, still training extremely hard, locking in for what you need to do to prepare for a big game on Sunday night. And seeing it as an opportunity to respond and play in a way the fans can hopefully be proud of in the back-end of the year.”

Just 48 hours after the opening match of the 2026 State of Origin series, NRL clubs have locked in their Round 13 lineups, delivering a mixed bag of injury updates that have reshaped upcoming fixtures across the league. While most clubs are taking a cautious approach to their representative Origin players, naming them to extended benches for fitness assessments later in the week, multiple teams have landed welcome boosts with key stars cleared to return from long injury layoffs.

Cronulla Sharks have suffered an early setback ahead of their Friday night clash against the in-form Manly Sea Eagles, with star halfback and former Blues playmaker Nicho Hynes ruled out entirely. Scans conducted earlier this week confirmed a minor calf strain sustained during training, and the club confirmed further testing will be required to confirm the length of his stint on the sidelines. In Hynes’ absence, rookie Niwhai Puru has been named in the coveted number 7 jersey, pairing with Braydon Trindall in the halves for the Sharks. For Manly, the Sea Eagles have kept their own Blues representatives — Haumole Olakau’atu and Tolu Koula — on an extended bench, aligning with the league-wide cautious approach to monitoring Origin players post-series opener.

The biggest boost of the round goes to the Brisbane Broncos, who have secured the return of superstar prop Payne Haas, who has made a full recovery from a knee injury. The NSW Blues mainstay is now on track to rejoin the state’s pack for the second Origin game, and will take the field for Brisbane this weekend against the St George Illawarra Dragons. Fellow Bronco Brendan Piakura has also earned a spot in the starting back row, with all of the club’s Origin representatives named to back up this weekend. The Dragons, for their part, have welcomed experienced hooker Jacob Liddle back to the squad, naming him on the bench for the Sunday clash.

Wests Tigers have also earned a significant boost to their lineup ahead of their match against the Canterbury Bulldogs, with multiple key players cleared to return: representative fullback Jahream Bula, hooker Api Koroisau, and promising young centre Heamasi Makasini. Makasini will partner with winger Sunia Turuva in the centres for the Tigers, while Canterbury has retained Jacob Kiraz in the starting fullback role. Regular starting fullback Connor Tracey will join captain Stephen Crichton on the Bulldogs’ extended bench for this round.

The Parramatta Eels are facing mixed injury fortunes ahead of Round 13: star halfback Mitch Moses remains sidelined with the hamstring strain that already ruled him out of the Origin series opener, but the club has welcomed dynamic fullback Isaiah Iongi back from an extended injury layoff. Long-time Eels prop and club great Junior Paulo recently underwent an arthroscopic procedure to treat a chronic right knee injury he had been playing through for the preceding three weeks, and is expected to make his return to the side in Round 21.

Sydney Roosters captain James Tedesco has been named in the starting fullback spot for the club’s away trip to face Melbourne Storm, with utility Cody Ramsey primed to shift into the role if the Blues star is rested for the round. The Storm will be without back-rower Shawn Blore, who was ruled out after suffering a head knock in training.

For NSW Blues and Penrith Panthers fans, there is excellent news ahead of Sunday’s top-billed clash against the New Zealand Warriors: star back-rower Liam Martin has been officially cleared to return from injury. All of Penrith’s Origin representatives have been named to an extended bench and will undergo final fitness assessments later in the week. For the Warriors, incoming Dragons playmaker Luke Metcalf has been named in the reserves as he pushes for a return to the active playing lineup. The official NRL shared full details of all Round 13 team lists via social media on May 26, 2026.

In a moving show of team solidarity just days after Jai Arrow’s forced retirement from professional rugby league following a devastating motor neurone disease (MND) diagnosis, Queensland Maroons head coach Billy Slater has opened up about the decision to welcome the veteran forward into the team’s pre-series camp ahead of the State of Origin opener in Sydney.

Arrow, a 12-game veteran for the Maroons and respected NRL forward with the South Sydney Rabbitohs, announced his medical retirement last week, shocking the Australian rugby league community. Slater, who shared the field with Arrow during the 2018 Origin series, made it a priority to bring the popular forward into the Maroons’ team environment ahead of the first match, with Arrow joining the entire squad for a team dinner in Parramatta on Monday night.

“Jai is one of those guys that thrives around his mates, his teammates, and the footy environment. He’s always been the life of the party, and that didn’t change last night,” Slater told reporters. “To see Jai laughing and joking with the boys, it made for such a special environment. We just knew it was really important to have Jai here for Jai. This was also a chance to honor his incredible career. We all understand the journey he’s starting now, and it’s going to be incredibly tough. Every Queenslander, every member of the rugby league community, is right behind him.”

Slater also paused to pay tribute to Australian AFL legend Neale Daniher, who passed away on Monday after a years-long public battle with MND. Daniher, named 2025 Australian of the Year, raised millions of dollars for critical MND research during his fight, leaving a lasting legacy for those impacted by the disease. Acknowledging the difficult road ahead for Arrow, Slater said the forward’s presence in camp had already left a profound mark on the entire Maroons squad, even though the decision to invite him was rooted purely in support, not inspiration.

“The thing I admire most about Jai is how reliable he is. He’s a tough, hardworking player, but more than that, he’s a reliable mate and a reliable teammate — that’s what I love about him,” Slater said. “When he gave his interview with Danika Mason, I was so struck by the fact that even now, he wants to inspire other people going through tough times. When someone faces this kind of adversity and still thinks about what they can give to others, that’s an incredible legacy to leave.”

While Arrow’s speech has started to decline due to the progression of MND, Slater said the forward retained his signature sense of humor and love for Queensland rugby league. “He’s still the same Jai. The boys love having him here, and he’ll remain with the group through game night. He’ll ride on the team bus to the stadium and be right there with the squad on match day,” Slater confirmed.

Beyond the emotional team news, Slater addressed on-field preparations, downplaying injury concerns around Queensland captain Cameron Munster, who sat out Sunday’s training session. “He just had a bit of muscle tightness. He’s totally fine,” Slater joked. “As players get a little older toward the end of their careers, you need to adjust training loads to make sure you’re at your best on game day. We made the call to give him the session off to freshen up, he’ll train this afternoon, and he’s 100% good to go tomorrow night.”

Munster will partner rookie half Sam Walker, who makes his State of Origin debut in front of a projected 80,000 fans at the Sydney ground. Both Slater and Munster have encouraged the young playmaker to lean into his unique playing style instead of trying to emulate past Queensland halves.

“He’s such a one-of-a-kind player, and I’ve been so impressed by his skill level spending this week with him,” Slater said. “We all know how creative he is, and that impression has only gotten stronger this week. He’s a level-headed, quiet kid, and he’s handled his first Origin week really well. I can’t wait to see him get out there and show what he can do — that’s our whole goal for him this game.”

The entire rugby league community has rallied around Arrow since his diagnosis was announced, with messages of support pouring in from clubs, players and fans across the country ahead of the opening Origin match.

The Essendon Bombers have made a high-stakes coaching change, cutting ties with senior coach Brad Scott just weeks into the 2026 Australian Football League season following a brutal slump in on-field performance. The decision comes after the club secured only a single win across Scott’s final 24 matches, a stretch that spans the end of the 2025 campaign and the opening weeks of 2026. Almost immediately after Scott’s dismissal was announced, former Essendon coach and club legend James Hird emerged as a fan-favorite candidate to return to the top job – a position Hird held more than a decade ago before his resignation in the wake of the club’s infamous supplements scandal.

In comments to reporters on Monday, Essendon president Andrew Welsh, a former teammate of Hird’s, declined to give a definitive answer on whether the club legend would be in the running for the vacant role, stopping short of both confirming and ruling him out entirely. “I haven’t spoken to Hird, no. We’re not ruling anyone in or anyone out of this. I am sure that there will be a lot of people interested in this role,” Welsh told media. The Essendon chief added that the club will first lay out clear criteria for the characteristics and qualifications it wants in its next senior coach, before narrowing down the pool of potential candidates.

Hird, who was a finalist for the Essendon senior coaching job back in 2022 before the board ultimately selected Brad Scott, has remained active in Australian rules football in recent years, currently serving in a coaching role with Port Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL), the top feeder competition for the AFL.

To steer the club through the upcoming transition period, Essendon has appointed club great Dean Solomon as interim senior coach. The appointment follows Solomon’s move from the club’s board of directors to an assistant coaching role in the pre-season, a shift that fueled speculation the club was already planning for Scott’s dismissal. Welsh rejected those claims outright in Monday’s press conference.

The Essendon president also pushed back on narratives that the club was determined to fill the role with a so-called “old Essendon” figure – a person with deep ties to the club’s history, along the lines of Welsh and Solomon himself. While Welsh emphasized that he values the passion and institutional knowledge that former Essendon players bring to the table, he noted that the club is open to any qualified candidate regardless of their past connection to the Bombers.

That said, Welsh pointed to multiple recent successful examples of former players returning to lead their old AFL clubs, arguing that when the right candidate is a former club great, the arrangement can deliver strong results. “I look at other clubs, respectfully Sam Mitchell has gone back to Hawthorn and doing an amazing job,” Welsh said. “I look at Justin Longmuir over at Fremantle, Josh Carr has gone back to Port Adelaide. I think there’s really good history around players going back to clubs and the right people for those groups going to those clubs. I don’t shy away from Essendon people being great people and I want great people – Essendon people – to continually be involved in the footy club.”

Essendon’s coaching change marks the second high-profile AFL vacancy in just a matter of weeks, coming after Carlton senior coach Michael Voss stepped down abruptly earlier this month. It also coincides with a search for a new coach for the AFL’s upcoming expansion club in Tasmania. When asked if the timing of those other vacancies factored into Essendon’s decision to move on Scott now, Welsh said the club did not consider that timeline at all when making the call. “That didn’t come into our consideration at all surrounding this decision,” he confirmed.

The most anticipated fixture on the European football calendar is finally here: Saturday’s Champions League final will pit two sides with polar-opposite playing philosophies against each other in Budapest, as Mikel Arteta’s pragmatically solid Arsenal lock horns with free-scoring defending champions Paris Saint-Germain.

For Arsenal, the journey to this showpiece ends a 20-year wait to return to the showpiece European final, an achievement that came alongside ending their 22-year drought to claim the Premier League title this season. While Arteta’s unglamorous, results-first approach has drawn criticism from neutrals and even frustrated some of the club’s own fans at points, the strategy has delivered the silverware that eluded the North London club for decades, after three consecutive second-place Premier League finishes left them empty-handed in recent seasons.

The Gunners’ identity is built on defensive discipline, tactical structure and aggressive high pressing, designed to cut off opponents’ access to dangerous areas and limit high-quality chances inside the box. No side in England’s top flight conceded fewer goals this term, and in their 13-match run to the final, Arsenal have let in just six goals while remaining unbeaten – a stat that stands in stark contrast to PSG, who have conceded 22 goals across their Champions League campaign this season.

At the back, a dominant physical centre-back pairing of Gabriel and William Saliba provides a solid foundation, backed up by Spanish goalkeeper David Raya, who matched the competition record of nine clean sheets this run and will be just one shutout away from lifting the trophy if he keeps PSG out on Saturday. Declan Rice anchors the midfield, while the Gunners have also turned dead-ball situations into a lethal, unrivalled weapon under the guidance of set-piece coach Nicolas Jover, poached from Manchester City in 2021.

This season alone, 27 of Arsenal’s 71 Premier League goals – 38 percent of their total – came from set pieces, earning the side the joking nickname “Set Piece FC”. Jover’s success has drawn strong reactions: Swiss publication Blick even questioned whether his focus on dead-ball mastery was “ruining football”, while former Liverpool defender Jamie Carraghora admitted he has never seen anything like Arsenal’s set-piece proficiency, saying “Every time they get a corner, my head is in my hands.”

Arteta has remained unphased by criticism of his side’s functional style, noting that “winning ugly” is far preferable to falling short of titles. “I don’t know how you celebrate one goal different to another – maybe for YouTube one is nicer than another,” he said. When the Gunners lifted the Premier League trophy earlier this season, thousands of fans packed the area outside the Emirates Stadium to celebrate, with players partying into the early hours, silencing any remaining internal criticism of the approach.

Where Arsenal seek to minimise risk and control the game through structure, PSG thrive on organised chaos and attack-minded risk-taking, boasting one of the most dynamic forward lines on the continent. Coach Luis Enrique has built a side that dismantles opponents on the transition with blistering pace, leading PSG to hit 44 goals in the Champions League this campaign – just one short of the all-time tournament record.

Even after trimming the club’s roster of oversized superstars, PSG still fields a trio of electric attackers in Ousmane Dembele, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Desire Doue, whose movement and unpredictability keep defences off balance. The French champions have put on a series of breathtaking attacking displays in this season’s knockout rounds: they scored eight goals on aggregate against Chelsea, six against Bayern Munich (including a memorable 5-4 first-leg win) and four against Liverpool, showcasing their willingness to throw players forward and outgun opponents.

Luis Enrique has proven his ability to adapt mid-tie too, shifting tactics in the second leg against Bayern to secure a 1-1 draw that booked PSG’s place in the final, proving the side can win in multiple ways. “We showed that we are a real team, unpredictable,” he said after putting five past Chelsea in the round of 16. For Doue, while the side can win without flashy play, their brand of free-flowing attacking football has been the formula that carried them to a second consecutive final, after they defeated Inter Milan in last season’s showpiece.

The final in Budapest will be a classic battle of immovable object versus unstoppable force, and the outcome will not just crown a new European champion, but also decide which playing style reigns supreme over the continent this season.

Nine years after delivering one of the most iconic debut performances in State of Origin history, Queensland Maroons captain Cameron Munster is passing on a lesson of self-belief to young rookie halfback Sam Walker, who is gearing up to make his first Origin appearance on Wednesday night. With simple but powerful words, Munster has urged the 20-something Sydney Roosters playmaker to “back yourself” as he steps onto what is forecast to be a rain-soaked field in front of 80,000 raucous New South Wales Blues supporters at Accor Stadium. Walker, widely regarded as a naturally unflappable competitor, will lean heavily on this advice from his experienced halves partner as he prepares for the biggest test of his young rugby league career to date.

Walker earns his unexpected Origin call-up after incumbent playmaker and 2023 Wally Lewis Medal winner Tom Dearden was forced to withdraw with an ankle injury sustained during a recent North Queensland Cowboys club match. While the young halfback has previously trained and worked with Queensland rugby league immortal Johnathan Thurston, Munster and the entire Maroons squad are clear: they do not want Walker to try to emulate the legend’s playing style or live up to the shadow of iconic former number 7s like Thurston and Cooper Cronk. Instead, they want him to lean into the unique strengths that earned him this opportunity in the first place: his sharp short kicking game and unorthodox, unpredictable playmaking that has caught the eye of selectors and fans alike this NRL season.

“There’s a reason why he’s been given the opportunity to wear that famous No.7 jersey,” Munster told reporters ahead of the clash. “We’re not expecting him to go out there to be Johnathan Thurston or Cooper Cronk or those type of guys that have been wearing the jersey before him. Go out there and be Sam Walker. Back yourself.” Munster added that the team has given Walker full creative freedom to play his natural game, even if some of his gambles do not pay off. “If it doesn’t come off, it doesn’t come off – that’s rugby league. I’d rather him out there giving it his all and trying his little tricks that he’s got in his bag than just sitting back and at the end of the game going ‘oh, I wish I did this, I wish I did that’,” he said. “We’ve given him full reins and full keys to the car, and hopefully you’ll see Sammy Walker blossom.”

While Walker has never competed on the Origin’s national stage before, he has already proven his ability to perform under intense pressure at the club level. The young halfback has claimed Man of the Match honours three times in the Roosters’ iconic Anzac Day clashes against the South Sydney Rabbitohs, consistently showing fearlessness when all eyes are on him. He grew up watching generations of Maroons young guns make successful Origin debuts, and Munster’s own 2015 debut stands as the perfect template: in that series-deciding match, Munster ran 136 metres and set up two match-defining tries, cementing his place in Queensland Origin folklore from his very first game.

Munster says he is confident Walker is ready to write his own Origin story, even if it does not follow a perfect narrative. “I guess you’ve got to sometimes write your own fairy tale. You’re not always going to be given the fairy tale,” Munster said. “It’s for him to go out there and get his game on and play well. There’ll be some times in that game where things might not go his way, and knowing Sammy, he’s that type of person with how calm he is that he’ll get on with his next job and do something spectacular.” The Maroons captain added that the team has no unrealistic expectations for the rookie: “We’re not expecting him to go out there and be man of the match. If he gets his job done, and everyone else in his team gets their job done, then we’re looking really excited and looking really forward to the way we can play.” Beyond Walker’s debut, Munster also expressed confidence in the depth of Queensland’s emerging halves talent, noting that the future of the Maroons program is in “good hands” with the likes of Dearden, Walker, Ezra Mam and Jake Clifford all coming through the development pipeline.

Opening day of the 2025 French Open at Roland Garros delivered a mix of dominant wins from title favorites and heartfelt farewells from tennis legends, as unforgiving 32-degree heat tested even the fittest competitors across the Parisian clay courts.

Four-time champion Iga Swiatek, the tournament’s third seed, kicked off her campaign for a fifth Roland Garros crown in commanding form, easing past 19-year-old Australian qualifier Emerson Jones in just 60 minutes with a 6-1, 6-2 victory. The match marked Swiatek’s first Grand Slam appearance since pairing up with Francisco Roig, former long-time coach of 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal, a partnership that already appears to be paying dividends. The Pole, who claimed three consecutive French Open titles from 2022 to 2024 before falling to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s semi-finals, will next face Czech prospect Sara Bejlek for a spot in the round of 32. Fresh off a semi-final run at the Italian Open earlier this month that signaled a return to peak form, Swiatek expressed confidence in her opening performance after the match.

“I’m really happy with the way I played. It was a solid match from the beginning to the end. I technically knew how to play,” the 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024 champion said.

Second seed Elena Rybakina, who already lifted the Australian Open trophy earlier this 2025 season, matched Swiatek’s straightforward win, dismissing Slovenian Veronika Erjavec 6-2, 6-2 on the iconic Court Philippe Chatrier. The Kazakhstani star echoed Swiatek’s relief at wrapping up the match quickly in the sweltering conditions, noting that the extreme heat made short, efficient runs through the draw a top priority. “It’s tough conditions but I’m happy things worked, and I’m looking forward to the next match,” Rybakina said, ahead of her second-round clash against Ukraine’s Yuliia Starodubtseva.

Other women’s singles winners on opening day included Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, who survived a dramatic three-set scare against Hungary’s Anna Bondar to keep her unbroken 13-year first-round win streak at Roland Garros intact. After dropping the opening set and trailing 3-1 in the deciding set, Svitolina rallied to secure a 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(10-3) win, just weeks after claiming her long-awaited fifth WTA 1000 title in Rome. Former tournament runner-up Jasmine Paolini also advanced with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska, while sixth seed Amanda Anisimova, last year’s runner-up at both Wimbledon and the US Open, beat French wildcard Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah 6-3, 6-1. In one of the day’s biggest upsets, 2024 Paris Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen of China suffered a shock first-round exit, falling 6-4, 6-0 to Poland’s Maja Chwalinska — marking Zheng’s first ever opening-round defeat at the French Open.

The most emotional moments of the day belonged to the departing legends of the sport, who said goodbye to Roland Garros ahead of their planned retirements at the end of the 2025 season. 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka, 41, brought an end to his Paris run with a four-set 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 loss to Dutch lucky loser Jesper de Jong, bowing out in front of a packed, cheering crowd on Court Simonne Mathieu. Wawrinka, who notched one of the most iconic upsets in Grand Slam history when he defeated Novak Djokovic to claim his only French Open title 10 years ago, enjoyed a fairytale run to the third round at January’s Australian Open in his final campaign, but could not replicate that form in the Paris heat.

After the match, tournament organizers honored Wawrinka’s legendary career with a glass case holding a fragment of Roland Garros clay, followed by two video tributes screened across the venue’s big screens. The second tribute included personal messages from the sport’s all-time greats: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. “Thanks to all your support, I wanted to go on as long as possible, to 41 years of age, to continue living moments like this,” Wawrinka told the crowd.

French home favorite Gael Monfils, 39, also played his final opening round at Roland Garros on Monday night, producing a rousing comeback from two sets down before fatigue got the better of him in the deciding set. The former tournament semi-finalist fell 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, 6-0 to fellow French wildcard Hugo Gaston, closing out his Roland Garros career in front of his home crowd.

In men’s opening round action, two-time Roland Garros runner-up Casper Ruud narrowly avoided a major upset against Russian qualifier Roman Safiullin, surviving a five-set thriller that was severely impacted by the day’s high temperatures. Both players called for medical time-outs in the fourth set, and took more than 16 minutes to return to court for the deciding set, with rallies slowing to a walk as fatigue set in. Ruud ultimately found enough energy to secure a 6-2, 7-6(7-5), 5-7, 0-6, 6-2 win, as Safiullin continued to wilt in the evening heat. Teenage Spanish rising star Rafael Jodar, who has rapidly climbed the ATP rankings this season after clay-court title runs and deep runs at the Barcelona, Madrid and Rome Open events, notched a straight-set win on debut, dismantling American Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-1, 6-0, 6-4. Fifth seed Ben Shelton, who has reached at least the quarter-finals at the other three Grand Slams already in his young career, kicked off his Paris campaign with a straight-set win over Daniel Merida.

Just weeks before the 2026 men’s World Cup kicks off across North America, Argentine football icon Lionel Messi is at the center of an injury scare after Inter Miami confirmed a diagnosis of left hamstring muscle fatigue. The Major League Soccer side announced the results of follow-up medical evaluations on Monday, three days after the 38-year-old was forced to exit Sunday’s 6-2 victory over the Philadelphia Union in the 73rd minute of play.

During the match, Messi visibly grabbed the back of his left hamstring to signal discomfort before requesting a substitution. Though observers noted he walked normally as he exited the pitch for the locker room, the club’s post-match medical workup pointed to fatigue-induced muscle overload from accumulated activity.

In an official statement, Inter Miami explained, ‘After undergoing further medical tests this Monday, the initial diagnosis indicates an overload associated with muscle fatigue in his left hamstring. The timeline for his return to physical activity will depend on his clinical and functional progress.’ The club provided no fixed schedule for Messi’s comeback, leaving both fans and national team staff in anticipation of updates.

The injury comes at a critical moment for the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, who is widely expected to feature in the upcoming World Cup — a tournament co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico that gets underway on June 11. Argentina, the defending 2022 World Cup champions, will play their first group stage match against Algeria in Kansas City just five days after the tournament opener.

Messi has not yet formally confirmed his participation in the 2026 tournament, but all public indicators point to him suiting up for a record-tying sixth World Cup appearance. The Argentine Football Association is set to name its official World Cup squad next week, and the national team will already travel to the U.S. for pre-tournament friendlies against Honduras on June 6 and Iceland on June 9, before the group stage kicks off.

Since joining Inter Miami in 2023, the club’s coaching and medical staff have carefully managed Messi’s playing workload to prevent overexertion, regularly resting him during stretches of congested fixture schedules. MLS has already entered a scheduled break to accommodate the World Cup, giving Messi time to recover without missing club matches, but the uncertainty around his rehabilitation timeline still raises concerns for Argentina ahead of their title defense.