Coach Gerardo Martino dropped the Napoli marksman earlier in October for the South American group matches from which Argentina took one point after a shock 2-0 home defeat by Ecuador followed by a 0-0 draw in Paraguay.
Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero was missing from the squad posted on the Argentine FA website (www.afa.org.ar) because he is still recovering from a leg injury that forced him off after half an hour against Ecuador.
Carlos Tevez, looking for his first international goal in four years, is retained as back-up while Juventus' Paulo Dybala, who won his first cap as a substitute in the draw in Asuncion, has also been included in a 25-man squad.
Messi is expected to be out for a total of seven to eight weeks after injuring his knee while playing for Barcelona a month ago.
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Argentina are seventh in the 10-nation South American group, five points behind leaders Uruguay, Ecuador and Chile.
They host arch-rivals Brazil in Buenos Aires on Nov. 12 and visit Colombia five days later.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Sergio Romero (Manchester United), Nahuel Guzman (UANL Tigres), Agustin Marchesin (Santos Laguna)
Defenders: Pablo Zabaleta, Nicolas Otamendi, Martin Demichelis (all Manchester City), Emmanuel Mas (San Lorenzo), Marcos Rojo (Manchester United), Facundo Roncaglia (Fiorentina), Ezequiel Garay (Zenit St Petersburg), Ramiro Funes Mori (Everton)
Midfielders: Javier Mascherano (Barcelona), Lucas Biglia (Lazio), Matias Kranevitter (River Plate), Ever Banega (Sevilla), Angel Di Maria, Javier Pastore (both Paris St Germain), Enzo Perez (Valencia), Erik Lamela (Tottenham Hotspur)
Forwards: Gonzalo Higuain (Napoli), Paulo Dybala (Juventus), Carlos Tevez (Boca Juniors), Nicolas Gaitan (Benfica), Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid), Ezequiel Lavezzi (Paris St Germain).
(Writing by Rex Gowar; Editing by Tony Jimenez)
