After being eliminated from the League Cup, after his 3-2 defeat to the Columbus Crew, Inter Miami has taken a break that suits him very well to face the final stage of the MLS season and to have his star Lionel Messi recovered.
The Argentine star is expected to be able to step on the court next week, after a month of rehabilitation, recovering from his injury to his right ankle.
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Although team coach Gerardo Tata Martino has said in the math of an opportunity that I do not rush, nor a marked date for his return, Messi is expected to be available for the August 24 game against Cincinnati at Chase Stadium, in the continuation of the MLS championship.
In this match, they face the first against the second of the Eastern Conference. Inter (16-5-4() occupies the top with 53 points, while Cincinnati (15-3-7) goes second with 48; so if Miami wins it would move away 8 points in the absence of only 8 games.
Inter aspires this season to win the title so winning the Supporters Shield, as the best team of the season, will allow him, in addition to facing eighth in the conference, to play at home in case he reaches the final of the MLS.
The team is expected to be able to count on Messi in most games, mainly in the playoffs, which will be central to his aspirations to win the 2024 MLS Cup.
Either way, Leo will miss the elimination matches in the 2026 World Cup with the Argentina team. The first two were on 5 and 10 September against Chile and Colombia; then on 10 and 15 October against Venezuela and Bolivia and finally on 14 and 19 November against Paraguay and Peru respectively.
The MLS ends the regular season on October 19 and the playoffs begin at the end of that month, with the final scheduled for December 7. It is almost certain that this next FIFA date will be its selection and probably the second, but it will be necessary to see if it will attend the third time Inter is immersed in the playoffs.
Argentina is first in the South American standings with 15 points in 6 games and is also expected to increase their advantage in the next four, which would allow Messi to be exempt in the next two matches.
And while the Miami team has done very well without Leo’s contest, it is no less true that with Messi Inter is doubly better, hence the concern of the fans of the eleven Rosanegra is lawful.
Can’t I stop being satisfied with the way we stand in the house of the last champion, finalist of the Concacaf champions? “Today we are a different team,” Tata said after the defeat against the Crew. We’ll try to compete and reach some title in the local league, which is what’s left.
The best thing is that Messi didn’t have to force him playing the final stages of the League Cup in which his eighth-seeded rival Columbus Crew will face New York City in fourth. The other matches in this instance will be Philadelphia Union vs. Mazatlan, Seattle Sounders vs LAFC, and Club America vs Colorado Rapids (3 MC League and MLS 5).
Not many led the defeat against Columbus last Tuesday and have charged inks against Tata, who regardless of what might have had some other punctuation error in that match, is masterfully leading the team this season, especially without Messi who has missed 13 of the team’s 25 games this season in the MLS.
But Leo will soon return, the injured too and Inter could have the full team to face this exciting end to the season, perhaps with the joy of winning the title after a hotter-than-usual summer.
