All signs point to Lionel Messi returning from injury Saturday at home vs. FC Cincinnati
After a month of ambiguity about a timeline for Lionel Messi’s return from a leg injury, all signs point to the Argentine star rejoining his Inter Miami teammates for the Saturday home game against first-place FC Cincinnati at DRV PNK Stadium.
Miami coach Tata Martino, who has been classifying Messi’s status as “day-to-day” for weeks, sounded cautiously optimistic about Messi’s recovery when asked for an update after Wednesday’s 4-1 road loss to the Chicago Fire, which Messi sat out.
MLS teams release their game-day roster an hour before kickoff and Messi’s name was missing for the fifth time since aggravating an old scar tissue injury on Sept. 7 while playing for Argentina against Ecuador in a World Cup qualifier in Buenos Aires.
He has played just 37 minutes for Miami since returning to club duty, and Miami has gone winless four games in a row in Messi’s absence. Also, tens of thousands of fans who paid big money in the hopes of seeing Messi play did not get their wish. A majority of the 62,124 fans in the record Soldier Field crowd Wednesday bought their tickets before Messi’s injury and showed up in his No. 10 jerseys, hoping he would show up.
“I think he’s getting closer to playing again,” Martino said. “We’ll evaluate him Friday to see if he’s in condition to play Saturday. The most important thing is him putting his injury behind and slowly returning to his best form.”
Martino has stressed all along that Messi’s availability is based on whether he feels fully fit and whether the medical team determines there is no risk of worsening the injury.
Midfielder Sergio Busquets, Messi’s former FC Barcelona teammate and close friend, said he is on the verge of returning. “He is practically ready to return, which is great because he is a very important player and we need him; but he can’t force it because then we could lose him again.”
Messi has been training mostly on the side, apart from the group, but Martino said he has grown stronger with each workout and this week was planning to resume full workouts.
Another sign that Messi’s return is imminent: Argentina on Thursday called him up for a pair of World Cup qualifiers against Paraguay Oct. 12 in Buenos Aires and Oct. 17 on the road against Peru. Martino said Messi’s commitment to his national team is “non-negotiable,” and the club knew that when they signed him.
If he plays in the Peru game, he would certainly miss the Oct. 18 home game between Inter Miami and Charlotte FC, the penultimate game of the regular season, which could have huge implications in the team’s playoff chances if the team is still alive.
Inter Miami is in 14th place in the Eastern Conference with 33 points and will have to win all three of remaining games and get help from other teams to reach the postseason. Miami must make up five points and move up five places in the standings, to No. 9, to earn a playoff spot.
This story was originally published October 5, 2023 at 5:41 PM.