Figal, Robinson, Leerdam expected back for Inter Miami road game at Chicago on Saturday
The mood was chipper around Inter Miami camp Thursday. The team is coming off a win at Cincinnati, players had Monday and Tuesday off to relax and a few key starters are back from injury in time for Saturday’s road game against the Chicago Fire.
Defender Nico Figal, forward Robbie Robinson and defender Kelvin Leerdam trained with the squad and are expected to travel to Chicago after missing weeks with hamstring injuries.
“We have to make sure they come through training Friday and they should be back with us, not necessarily to start, but to train,” coach Phil Neville said of the trio. “I want to take them to Chicago. I want them back in the group. They bring quality, competition and that winning mentality, Figal especially. He is an out and out winner. I think he was our best player in preseason. It was disappointing when he tweaked his hamstring.”
Leandro Gonzalez Pirez, Gregore and Rodolfo Pizarro were recovering and did not do full training Thursday morning, but Neville expects them to be ready Saturday. Gonzalez Pirez has been nursing a minor knee ligament injury.
Neville said forward Julian Carranza, who missed several games due to vertigo, has been “absolutely sensational” in training this week. He has been doing an extra 20 to 30 minutes of work each day, and Neville said he looks sharp and confident.
Pizarro’s attitude after being left out of the starting lineup last Sunday has been excellent, Neville said, and he stressed that he expects the Mexican playmaker to be “a massive” part of the team. He did not say if Pizarro or Federico Higuain would start Saturday.
Neville on Marcelo rumors
With David Beckham as a co-owner, Inter Miami is continually the subject of trade rumors with some of the sport’s biggest names. The latest reports from Europe said Brazilian defender Marcelo will leave Real Madrid this summer with Inter Miami as a possible destination.
Asked about the rumor, Neville smiled and replied: “I do not need another left back. I’ve got more left backs than yellow taxis. It shows the level of the club and the interest, but what I want for us is pure stability… Every time somebody gets mentioned (in media reports], somebody in this football club, in my team, will feel, even if it is .1 percent, unnerved by it, and that is not good for us.”
Blue jersey launch
Inter Miami will be wearing blue instead of black and pink for the May 29 home game against D.C. United, the first at full capacity at DRV PNK Stadium. The special edition “Primeblue” shirt is part of MLS’ ocean conservation campaign before World Oceans Day on June 8. The shirt is made of yarn made with 50 percent recycled plastic collected from coastlines.