Tuesday's defeat in La Paz -- Juan Arce and Marcelo Martins scored for Bolivia -- means the two-time World Cup winners fall from third to fifth in the 10-team South American qualifying group in the race to qualify for Russia 2018.
The top four teams in South American qualifying advance to next summer's tournament, while the team that finishes fifth goes into a playoff.
Messi won't return to international duty until Argentina's final fixture against Ecuador, by which time the damage could already be done.
Prior to FIFA's announcement, football expert Greg Stobart told CNN's World Sport: "Argentina are totally dependent on him (Messi.)
"He's missed quite a few qualifying games through injury -- seven matches and they've only won one of them.
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