Messi admits he was not fit against Colombia

Buenos Aires, June 8 (IANS): Lionel Messi admitted that he was not fit to play in Argentina’s goalless draw with Colombia in their World Cup qualifier at the Estadio Monumental.

Messi, who had not played since May 12 due to a thigh injury, was introduced by Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella in the 55th minute Thursday, reports Xinhua.

“I’m not well. Today I could play a little but I wasn’t sure how my leg was going to respond,” Messi said after the match.

“We spoke about it before the match with the coach and decided that it would be best to come on for a while in the second half.”

The Barcelona striker criticized the decision to rule out Sergio Aguero‘s 72nd-minute striker for off side, which came after Messi was deemed to have interfered from an illegal position.

“I didn’t make my run too early and nor did I threaten to do so. It wasn’t offside. I told the referee (Marlon Escalante) but he said he had already allowed the goal.”

The 25-year-old admitted he wasn’t sure if he would be fit to play in Argentina’s next South America zone qualifier against Ecuador in Quito Tuesday.

“I don’t know, I haven’t played for a long time,” he said. “Playing at altitude takes a lot out of you. Even if I don’t play, the team will be going out to win.”