Argentina captain and Inter Miami star Lionel Messi may not play in the Copa America game against Peru Saturday night at Hard Rock Stadium, which surely would disappoint the expected sellout crowd.

The Argentine team clinched a spot in the quarterfinals late Tuesday night with a 1-0 win against Chile in front of 80,000 fans at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Coach Lionel Scaloni said after the game that with a berth in the knockout round in hand, he plans to rest many starters for the third group stage game against Peru, which would indicate that Messi would not be in the lineup.

“Players who have not had a chance to play in the first two games will get a chance to play because I need to see them and because they deserve it,” Scaloni said.

Messi’s status for the game would have been in question anyway because he suffered an upper right thigh injury early in the Chile match. He had it massaged by a trainer on the field, remained in the game and played the full 90 minutes. According to TyC Sports, he was undergoing tests on Wednesday to determine the severity of the injury.

He missed six Inter Miami games at the end of last season due to injury and sat out four games early this season with a hamstring strain.

Messi confirmed during post game interviews Tuesday night that he was feeling discomfort in his right adductor/groin area.

“It bothers me a little bit, but I was able to finish playing,” he said. “I hope it’s nothing serious. It happened during the sprint on the first play. I didn’t feel a sharp pain, but it got stiff. It was hard to move freely. I felt discomfort. I’ll see how I feel (Wednesday).”

Messi also said he had a sore throat and a fever for a few days prior to the Chile game.

Asked about Messi’s injury, Scaloni said: “I didn’t speak with him after the game. He ended up playing through. You saw he had the 50-meter sprint there with Angel (DiMaria) and Lautaro (Martinez) and it’s the last image I have (in my mind). I can’t say more because I haven’t seen him.”

Argentina will win Group A barring a loss to Peru in Miami Gardens and a Canadian win over Chile in a game played simultaneously in Orlando.

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