Sergio Busquets felt the absence of Lionel Messi on the pitch as Inter Miami crashed out of the Leagues Cup on Tuesday.

The experienced midfielder missed Messi’s presenceThe Argentine star was injured in the Copa América finalInter Miami fell to Columbus Crew

The Herons, winners of the inaugural Leagues Cup last season, will not be able to defend their title this year after being eliminated in the round of 16 with a 3-2 defeat to Columbus Crew.

After a painful defeat in the knockout phase, midfielder Busquets lamented the absence of captain Messi from the pitch. The Argentine remains sidelined due to an injury sustained in the Copa America final. Earlier this week, coach Gerardo Martino admitted that he does not know when Messi will be able to play again.

Speaking to reporters after the Leagues Cup clash, the former Barcelona and Spain player said: “We know the difference Leo makes, I wish we could have had him with us. But football has this: injuries, setbacks. He is very important for us and it was a shame not to be able to enjoy it because I am sure everything would have been different and we would have had many more opportunities.”

He added: “We had a very good first half, we went into the break with a positive result. From then on they put on more attacking players. We knew they were going to attack, that they were going to try to score goals, but that we were also going to have our chances, especially on the counterattack.

“And I think that’s what happened: the result was decided by that because they were more precise in front of goal. We had many counterattacks where we lacked that last pass, that last finish that didn’t come. It’s a shame, we wanted to stay in the tournament and we fought until the end.”

The David Beckham-owned team will be back in action on Saturday when they take on Cincinnati in an MLS clash at Chase Stadium, with Mbappe likely to watch from the sidelines once again.