Inter Miami trained on Wednesday, August 21, with a view to next Saturday’s important match (7:30 p.m.) against Cincinnati FC at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, again without the Argentine star Lionel Messi.
While there was a slight chance Leo would play, he completely vanished because he was not in the group preparing the game.
Messi’s ankle injury was not minor and seriously affected a ligament. He is now in the phase of strengthening the muscles around him and regaining mobility, indicating that his return is closer.
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He is expected to soon start running individually on the sidelines before joining the group.
That the Argentina team, which has the same physiotherapist, has not called him for the matches of the world elections of 5 and 10 September indicates that Leo is still in a frank recovery process.
The best thing, even though the fans are excited, is that there is no rush. The club wants him to be 100 percent for the playoffs where Miami is one of the favorites to win the MLS title.
Messi is aware of this and is fully focused on rehabilitation calmly, with care for the millimeter.
Leo is also expected to start training next week and more realistically to play on September 14 at the Chase Stadium against Philadelphia. It could take a few minutes in the game in Chicago against the Fire on August 31.
Messi is the most valuable and therefore key piece in this Inter Miami in his dream of conquering his first crown of the MLS and that is why we have to take care of every detail without forcing anything. Before Cincinnati, the pink team doesn’t really play anything.
If he wins he is ranked for the playoffs and if he loses he still has eight more matches to do so.
Nor is the first place played because with 53 points he leads the Eastern Conference and his rival is 48.
Most of all, it is the pride of avenging the 6-1 defeat at TQL Stadium, although it is not wrong to qualify for the post-seater and extend its advantage to eight units.
Inter Miami has an 8-3 mark in the last 11 games (6-1 in the MLS) without Messi, which invites you to dream.
For this gesture, it has great players of the size of Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, and Luis Suarez, who have been joined by Paraguayans Diego Gomez and Matias Rojas.
The only doubt now is whether Fede Redondo, who trained on the sidelines of the team this Wednesday, will arrive on time, although he was seen moving very well.
The Argentine is one of the pillars of the team led by Gerardo Tata Martino in the midfield.
And while the match against Cincinnati is quite attractive, it doesn’t really cover Messi’s absence, the great claim of fans from both the Miami team and the rest of the teams, as the maximum attraction of a soccer game in the United States.
In fact, ticket prices increased by 171% compared to the 2023 season, but of the 25 games in the MLS Leo has only played 12, but with 12 goals and 9 assists.
In 2024 the winner of eight Golden Balls has missed 17 games, or 58 percent of the team’s challenges, which is enough and certainly not in the plans.
Messi did not participate in any of his team’s four games in the League Cup, a tournament he won last season and represented the first title for both.
And fans, about everyone who bought season tickets, begin to get fed up with Leo’s image sitting in the stands, after seeing him again in the 3-3 draw against St. Louis on June 1. It’s not his fault, though he can make up for it in the future.
While his contract with Inter Miami ends at the end of 2025, Leo has the option to play another year and I think he is in the moral obligation to exercise that option.
And more considering that 2026 is the year of the World Cup in the United States, shared, and especially the year in which it will be played at the club’s new stadium Miami Freedom Park.
