Lionel Messi questionable for Inter Miami game at Orlando. Here is the latest update
Lionel Messi is listed as questionable for the Inter Miami game on the road Wednesday against Orlando City after sustaining a minor knee injury in last weekend’s game at Montreal.
Assistant coach Javi Morales said Tuesday morning that the Argentine captain’s availability for the match would be determined based on how he felt after the training session. He was the only Miami player listed as “questionable” on the team’s official injury report, which was released at 5 p.m. Five other players were listed as out, as expected, as they have been dealing with long-term injuries.
Messi banged his knee during Inter Miami’s 3-2 win over Montréal on Saturday when he was fouled by Montreal’s George Campbell in the 40th minute. He fell to the ground holding his knee, writhed in pain for a few minutes, but was cleared to finish the game. He iced the knee after the match.
With the short turnaround between games, another game at home Saturday against D.C. United and Copa America looming next month, the Miami coaches and medical staff might choose to rest Messi Wednesday to avoid further injury risk.
Messi, who turns 37 in June, played 90-plus minutes the past six games, including the Champions Cup match against Monterrey in Mexico. He scored six goals and had eight assists during that stretch.
“Of course, it’s different when you have three games in a week than when you have seven days and there is more time for recovery,” Morales said. “We’re going to talk to him and see how he feels. [Monday] he did bike and a light jog, he felt a little bit [pointing to his knee], and we’ll see how he is [Tuesday].”
The players who started against Montreal did recovery work Monday and Tuesday and were not with the rest of the group during the part of the training session open to media Tuesday morning. One player who trained fully Tuesday was left back Jordi Alba, who is returning from a hamstring injury and ready to play, Morales said.
Federico Redondo (knee) did some field work with a trainer but is not recovered yet.
Miami, which sits in first place in the MLS Eastern Conference with 27 points, is expecting an intense game against in-state rival Orlando, despite the team’s 11th-place standing.
“Like always, it’s a derby, a classico, and it’s always fun to play those games with the intensity they’re going to bring there,” Morales said. “We haven’t won there yet, and we hope Wednesday will be the first time. But they always defend well, close spaces, and they are coming off a win and playing at home.”
Miami has scored a league-best 35 goals and conceded 20 for a plus-15 differential while Orlando is at minus-6 with 14 goals scored and 20 conceded.
“It’s a challenge having a midweek game to get the energy back up, but it helps that we won because we bring that momentum into midweek,” said goalkeeper Drake Callender. “The spirits are high.”
Asked if there is any danger of complacency with the team riding a five-game winning streak, Callender said: “There still needs to be a clear intention that we’re not stopping yet. We can’t get complacent, get comfortable where we are. We know that teams are vying for us, so we have to be grounded on each training, each game, and get the result.”
This story was originally published May 14, 2024 at 12:51 PM.