Is Lionel Messi playing for Inter Miami against Chicago Fire tomorrow?
Lionel Messi could feature when Inter Miami travel to face Chicago Fire in the Major League Soccer (MLS) on Wednesday (October 4). The Argentina forward is slowly returning to full fitness from the muscular injury he picked up last month.
Inter Miami manager Gerardo Martino has provided some information on Messi's fitness ahead of their game against the Chicago Fire. The Argentine tactician revealed that the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner is getting closer to full fitness.
Gerardo Martino was quoted as saying the following (via AS):
“Regarding Messi, we’ll evaluate today’s training session to see if he’s at any risk, and decide whether he should travel to Chicago for tomorrow’s match. He should start training with the team either today or tomorrow; considering tomorrow is the match day, he may do the first part of the warm-up today.”
He added:
“He’s getting closer to normal training each day, and so we are evaluating him on a day-to-day basis. There is a chance of him playing tomorrow."
Despite Martino's claims, it is highly unlikely that Lionel Messi will start for Inter Miami against Chicago Fire on Wednesday. The former Barcelona superstar could make an appearance off the bench but that is a stretch considering Messi might need to play for Argentina in the upcoming international break.
The Herons will once again have to rely on the likes of Leonardo Campana and Facundo Farias amongst others in Messi's absence. They are still in the running to secure a playoff spot and are four points behind CF Montreal who occupy the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Florida-based side, however, do have a game in hand.
How many games has Lionel Messi missed for Inter Miami due to injury?
As things stand, Lionel Messi has missed a total of five games for Inter Miami since he returned from international duty with a niggle last month. This includes four games in the MLS and the US Open Cup final against Houston Dynamo, which they lost.
Lionel Messi has missed four out of the last five matches in the league. The only time he played was for 37 minutes against Toronto FC but was forced to go off due to the injury.
The last time Lionel Messi played the full 90 minutes for Inter Miami was back on September 4 against Los Angeles FC. Tata Martino's side secured a 3-1 win on that occasion with the Argentina captain registering two assists on that occasion.