Messi questionable for widely anticipated MLS debut with Inter Miami
Inter Miami head coach Gerardo "Tata" Martino said Friday that Lionel Messi will face a late assessment over whether he's fit enough to make his Major League Soccer debut against the New York Red Bulls on Saturday.
"We will assess further after this evening's training," Martino said, according to ESPN's Ross Devonport. "It is inevitable that we will not have him at some point."
Messi was unveiled as an Inter Miami player on July 16 and already boasts 10 goals and three assists in eight appearances for the club. However, seven of those outings were in the Leagues Cup - a competition for MLS and Liga MX clubs that Inter Miami went on to win - and there was another 120-minute slog in Wednesday's U.S. Open Cup semifinal clash with FC Cincinnati. Inter Miami also won that match after a penalty shootout.
Messi has played every minute of Inter Miami's last six games, but his MLS commitments have waited.
"We've played eight games. It's clear that Leo, just like many other players, is arriving at an important physical limit," Martino said after the U.S. Open Cup win over Cincinnati, as reported by The Athletic's Ed Mackey.
"From today on, we'll begin to evaluate how to handle, at minimum, the next three games."
Inter Miami won all eight of their matches since Messi joined the club, with three of those victories coming courtesy of a penalty shootout. However, they're flagging in MLS action, positioned bottom of the Eastern Conference and a hefty 14 points below the final playoff spot.
In addition to Miami's lowly MLS standing, there's pressure to field Messi at the Red Bull Arena on Saturday due to the frenzy surrounding his possible debut in the competition. Hundreds of fans camped outside the team's hotel Friday, and tickets for the match are selling for over $400 on secondary resale sites, Devonport reports.
"I understand the expectations the rest of the world has to watch him, and that is undeniable," Martino said Friday. "But I cannot act based on that because then I would risk doing things wrong."