Inter Miami head coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino suggested on Saturday that Lionel Messi could be weeks away from returning to the pitch, which would give the team a significant boost ahead of the MLS Cup playoffs.
Messi has not played since suffering his ankle injury during Argentina’s Copa America final victory on July 14. He missed eight Inter Miami matches during that period, including their participation in the round of 16 of the Leagues Cup. Star Game on July 24 and will miss Argentina’s World Cup qualifiers this month, but has been slowly building up fitness of late.
Messi has been training with his Inter Miami teammates in recent weeks and technically could have played against the Chicago Fire on Saturday, although Martino chose not to. according to The Miami Herald. The target instead is Miami’s next match against the Philadelphia Union on September 14 after the international break.
“Leo has been training with the group for some time, but we felt that for the time he could have given us in this match it was better to give him the next fifteen days and see if we can have him available for our next game. game against Philadelphia,” Martino said after the team’s 4-1 win in Chicago.
Although Miami has already clinched a spot in the playoffs, Messi’s return could improve their chances of winning the club’s first-ever MLS trophies. Miami is currently the leader in the Supporters’ Shield, thanks in large part to Luis Suarez’s 16-goal season, including two against the Fire. The group will soon join the race for the MLS Cup and is already doing better than last season’s failure to qualify for the playoffs.
It has been an injury-plagued season for Messi, even before his Copa America injury, but he has still been quite efficient for his club team. He has 12 goals and 13 assists in 12 MLS games this season, just four goals behind team leader Suarez and five behind league leader Christian Benteke of DC United.