Messi, who currently plays for Inter Miami, sustained the injury during the Copa America final in the United States last month.He is presently undergoing recovery at his club.
In addition to Messi, goalkeeper Franco Armani from River Plate and striker Angel Di Maria were also absent from the squad. Di Maria recently announced his retirement from the national team following the conclusion of the Copa America.
Coach Lionel Scaloni has announced the inclusion of two new players in the Argentina squad: midfielder Ezequiel Fernandez and striker Valentin Castellanos. Additionally, he has called up several young players with limited international experience, such as Alejandro Garnacho, Valentin Carboni, Valentin Barco and Matias Soule.
Argentina will face Chile on September 5 at the iconic Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires. Following that match, they will travel to Barranquilla to take on Colombia five days later.
SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Walter Benitez (PSV Eindhoven), Geronimo Rulli (Olympique de Marseille), Juan Musso (Atalanta), Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)
Defenders: Gonzalo Montiel (Sevilla), Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid), Cristian Romero (Tottenham Hotspur), German Pezzella (River Plate), Leonardo Balerdi (Olympique Marseille), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica), Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United), Nicolas Tagliafico (Olympique Lyonnais), Valentin Barco (Brighton & Hove Albion)
Midfielders: Guido Rodriguez (West Ham United), Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool), Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea), Giovani Lo Celso (Tottenham Hotspur), Ezequiel Fernandez (Al Duhail), Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid), Nicolas Gonzalez (Fiorentina), Leandro Paredes (AS Roma)
Forwards: Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United), Matias Soule (AS Roma), Giuliano Simeone (Atletico Madrid), Valentin Carboni (Olympique Marseille), Julian Alvarez (Atletico Madrid), Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan), Valentin Castellanos (Lazio)
(With Reuters inputs)
