Details have now emerged over whether Lionel Messi will play for Inter Miami tonight against Florida rivals Orlando City SC.
The Argentine international suffered a knock in Saturday’s 3-2 win against CF Montreal, with Messi missing a portion of yesterday’s open training session as injury fears began to grow again over the 36-year-old forward.
With Messi starting the last six games for Inter Miami, the former PSG and FC Barcelona superstar has been subject to a lot of minutes in MLS, with the schedule now heating up with midweek games back on the schedule for the Herons.
And an update has now been provided on if Messi will play against Orlando.
Messi unlikely to feature for Inter Miami tonight vs Orlando City
According to journalist Michelle Kaufman, Messi is unlikely to play later today against Orlando, with the Argentine potentially better off being rested ahead of this weekend’s clash against DC United at Chase Stadium.
Kaufman said: “My guess is he will not play. He’s coming off a stretch where he played six games in a row for the full 90 minutes. The man is turning 37 next month, and he’s been playing really hard. Nobody can question his desire.
“He had a knock on the knee against Montreal and had to go off for a few minutes. He was cleared to go back on and he did play the rest of the game, but he had been going through several weeks of just playing one game a week, now it’s back to three in a week.
“Copa America is looming, so he wants to be fresh and playing, so it’s a real balance. Inter Miami have three games this week, so maybe they don’t want to risk him.”
Inter Miami must rest Messi amid latest injury scare
Having played six full games in succession, it’s perhaps no real surprise Messi is now suffering another injury scare, with the attacker at an age where he simply can’t play every game for Inter Miami.
And whilst tonight’s fixture against Orlando is a big one, the Herons have more than enough quality in the roster to get the three points secured against their Florida rivals.
Indeed, Saturday alone showed that Inter Miami can get the job done even with Messi not at 100%, and the same can be said for tonight’s clash against Orlando.