SOCCER
Will Lionel Messi be in the Argentina squad for October internationals? Will he miss MLS playoff games?
The Inter Miami captain only recently returned from injury but is in contention for Lionel Scaloni’s squad for the upcoming international break.
The MLS regular season is approaching its finale, meaning that the MLS Cup playoffs are just around the corner.
Inter Miami are expected to clinch the Supporters’ Shield title in the coming days but the postseason MLS Cup will be the focus for all around Chase Stadium. The Herons recently welcomed back Lionel Messi from injury and will hope to have him at full fitness for the playoffs.
First, however, they may well lose Messi to the Argentina national team. The 37-year-old is expected to join up with his international teammates for the October international break.
“In addition to the games with us, he has the games with the Argentinian national team,” Miami head coach Tata Martino said last week, adding that the extra games could help his return to full fitness. “Leo is going to get better and better as he adds 90 minutes.”
“Obviously, Leo does not need to do differentiated physical work in training. But he needs a rhythm of competition, which gives me the idea that he is going to reach the playoffs very well because in addition to the games with us he has the games with the Argentinian national team. So we have high hopes that he will come into the play-offs in very good shape.”
Wil Lionel Messi miss MLS games with Argentina?
“We hope he starts to play,” Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni said of Messi last month. “When we give the next list [in October], we will be in contact with him as we do with everyone. Then we will see if he is available to return.”
Fortunately for the Herons, even if Messi is called up by Argentina it’s unlikely to have much impact on their postseason chances. Argentina’s fixtures see them face Venezuela (October 10) and Bolivia (October 15) before the culmination of the regular season.
MLS Decision Day on October 19 will be the final weekend of regular season action. The Wild Card round begins on October 23 but Round One of the playoffs, where Miami will join, does not start until October 26. By that point, Messi will be back with his teammates and ready for an assault on MLS Cup.