INTER MIAMI
What injury does Messi have? Will he be fit to play against Monterrey in the CONCACAF Champions Cup?
The Argentine is currently sidelined, with his presence against Monterrey not confirmed.
We all know Messi is injured, we all know that Inter Miami’s record without him is as ropey as a pirate ship and we all know that their season has turned into a pressure cooker earlier than we could have imagined.
But what exactly is wrong with Messi and why is his injury record so poor? Will he be back to play against Monterrey (Wednesday 3 April 2024 at 8pm ET/5pm PT.) in a game that looks more and more difficult by the day? Here’s an attempt an answering those questions.
It was back before the game against Montreal when news of Messi’s fitness first reached public ears this season. The 2023 MLS season for Inter Miami went from sunshine to lightning storms almost overnight as their prospects of playoff football crumbled in front of them with the World Cup winner on the bench.
What injury does Lionel Messi have?
This season, with a ‘Messi plan’ in practice to reduce and caress his minutes, this was not supposed to happen. An “overload in his right hamstring” was the diagnosis according to Tata Martino and since then, we’ve seen Miami wading through mud as they look to replace his magic.
However, a Messi-less Miami fell to a sorry home loss against CF Montreal, The Herons’ first defeat of the season. Days later, with the Argentine back in the setup, Messi and Suárez were on fire as Miami cruised to the quarter-finals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Will Messi be back against Monterrey?
The good news ends there. New York, New York so good they named it twice but have you ever had to play against them two times in a row? Ask Tata Martino what he thinks. First up it was the Red Bulls, who whipped them and put four past Callender before City got a draw after stifling their front line. Miami have looked stodgy in attack and wobbly in defence without Messi: a suicidal mix.
“Leo is working with the physios”, said Javi Morales, Martino’s technical assistant, “he will not be available [against NYCFC] but we will try to do our best to have him here at home next Wednesday against Monterrey. We are all working on it with the medical staff. That is why he is ruled out for tomorrow and we will try to have him available for the next match against Monterrey”, added the coach.
“We know that we are not happy with what happened against Red Bulls, we know that important matches are coming and especially tomorrow. We will be able to turn the page and give another version of ourselves to our fans. This is a group that has experience and knows how to play, I don’t think they are in a bad state of mind, but in terms of our play we have to improve because there are important games coming up and we have to get there in the best way possible.”