West Ham star Edson Álvarez leaves the field crying just 30 minutes after the first match of the Copa América

West Ham midfielder Edson Alvarez was distraught when he left the field just 30 minutes into Mexico's first Copa America match.

Álvarez captained the team for the first time in a major tournament, but the match ended prematurely for him.

While racing back against Jamaica, at NRG Stadium in Houston, the Hammers The midfielder went down clutching his left hamstring.

There were no other players around him when he fell and had to be helped off the field.

“With Edson we are going to wait a couple of days to do an exam and know exactly what he has,” Mexico coach Jaime 'Jimmy' Lozano said in a post-match news report. conference.

“Obviously, as with any other player, the intention is not to risk anything. He felt something in his leg.”

It's heartbreaking for Álvarez, who spoke Friday about his pride in captaining Mexico in the tournament.

“I really want this to start, (so) tomorrow I can go out with the captain's armband, listen to the national anthem of Mexico in front of all the people,” he said. “It's something I think about and get goosebumps.”

Mexico won the match against Jamaica 1-0, thanks to Gerardo Arteaga's goal in the 69th minute.

Álvarez's West Ham teammate and Jamaican international michail antonio He had seen his header disallowed by VAR just 19 minutes earlier.

Mexico coach Lozano added: “It's not easy to recover and keep your balance after your captain leaves so quickly… but it seems to me that the team stabilized quickly.”

The next Mexico America Cup The group match is against Venezuela on Thursday.