Higuain brothers miss playoff game, reportedly due to COVID-19
Inter Miami's Gonzalo Higuain, Federico Higuain, and Leandro Gonzalez Pirez, who were all expected to start Friday's playoff game against Nashville SC, are out with COVID-19, a source told the Miami Herald's Michelle Kaufman.
The club confirmed to Kaufman that "three regular players" did not travel to Nashville for the game because they were "not medically cleared" to play.
Gonzalo Higuain, one of MLS' biggest stars and highest earners with an annual salary of around $7 million, was expected to star in Inter Miami's first-ever playoff appearance. He joined the expansion franchise in September on a free transfer from Juventus, and his brother Federico, an eight-year veteran of the league, moved from D.C. United to Miami via trade in October.
MLS has encountered a spate of COVID-19 cases just before the playoffs begin. LAFC star Diego Rossi, along with three of his teammates, tested positive after playing for his native Uruguay in World Cup qualifying. LAFC face the Seattle Sounders next Tuesday.
The winner of Friday's match between Inter Miami and Nashville will meet either Toronto FC or the Philadelphia Union.