Lionel Messi is travelling with the Argentina squad to Bolivia for their World Cup qualifier, with a late decision to be made over whether he will start the game. 

The Inter Miami star was substituted in the 89th minute of Argentina’s 1-0 win against Ecuador on Thursday.

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni confirmed after the game that Messi had ‘felt something’ and had asked to be taken off.

However, Messi is still in contention to face Bolivia, with Scaloni saying that a decision will be made on Monday over whether he will feature. 

Lionel Messi is travelling to Bolivia with the Argentina squad, with a late decision to be made on his involvement

Messi scored the winner for Argentina against Ecuador but then had to be substituted

Scaloni said: ‘Messi is going to travel to Bolivia. Today he trained differently, but there are still 2 days left until the game and we will make the decision tomorrow whether he plays or not. The team is going to be similar to the one that played against Ecuador.’ 

Read Related Also: Wolves are locked in talks for Strasbourg midfielders Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Habib Diarra as Gary O’Neil looks to spend £53m raised from Matheus Nunes’ Man City move

Messi remains a player of key importance for Argentina, as evidenced by the fact that he scored the only goal against Ecuador.

The 36-year-old has enjoyed a superb start to his Inter Miami career, scoring eleven goals in as many matches and providing five assists. He also helped the club to win the Leagues Cup.

After securing victory in their opening World Cup qualifier, Argentina will be determined to take another three points against Bolivia. 

Messi is Argentina’s all-time leading scorer with 104 goals, while he also has the highest amount of appearances with 176.

Inter Miami will hope to have Messi back in action for their game away to Atlanta next weekend.

Inter Miami will hope to be able to call upon Messi when they face Atlanta next weekend