FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Lionel Messi will be on Inter Miami’s matchday roster for Saturday’s game against the Philadelphia Union, coach Javier Mascherano said Friday, but it remains unclear if Messi will play.
Messi has been nursing an adductor strain in his left thigh. He felt discomfort during Inter Miami’s last match at Atlanta United March 16, and he did not join Argentina for World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay March 21 and Brazil on Tuesday.
‘Messi is doing well” and ‘if nothing happens” during Friday’s training session, Messi ‘should be available” Saturday, Mascherano said before Friday’s practice.
‘He knows his body very well, and the reality is that he has been training progressively more and more, and has joined in to do some training sessions with the group. And today he will do the entire training session,’ Mascherano said of Messi, his former teammate with Barcelona and Argentina.
Philadelphia sits atop the MLS Eastern Conference with 12 points from a 4-1-0 (win-loss-draw) record, while Charlotte FC, Inter Miami, Nashville SC and Chicago FC each have 10 points to round out the Top 5, entering Saturday’s slate of MLS games.
How to watch Inter Miami vs. Philadelphia Union?
The Inter Miami-Philadelphia Union match begins at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and will be available to live stream on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV.
Is Messi playing tomorrow vs. Philadelphia?
It’s unclear if Messi will play, but he’s expected to be on Inter Miami’s matchday roster.
How does Messi’s return impact Inter Miami’s upcoming schedule?
Saturday begins a five-match stretch for Inter Miami over a span of 16 days, so expect Messi’s potential playing time to be limited as he makes his return.
Inter Miami will play LAFC in the first leg of their Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinal in Los Angeles on Wednesday. The club will host Toronto FC April 6, then host LAFC in the second leg of their matchup April 9. Inter Miami will play on the road at the Chicago Fire April 13, ending the five-match stretch.
Inter Miami said Messi had an MRI, which revealed he has a ‘low-grade injury in the adductor muscle” on March 17, a day after he scored a goal to help Inter Miami win 2-1 at Atlanta.
Before the Atlanta match, Messi scored a goal March 13 during his return from a three-game layoff to help Inter Miami advance past Jamaican side Cavalier FC in the Concacaf Champions Cup tournament.
Messi did not play in the club’s 4-1 win against the Houston Dynamo March 2, the first leg against Cavalier March 6, or against Charlotte FC March 9.
Messi predominately played in three matches during a six-day stretch from Feb. 19-25, and eight matches in a 40-day span from Jan. 18 to Feb. 14, which included five preseason matches to start the year.