Prior to the team’s crucial MLS six-pointer against New York City, as they pursue their playoff hopes, Lionel Messi was stopped by Inter Miami’s training session on the grass.

After missing four of Vice City’s previous five games, the Argentine superstar’s health has become a hot topic among fans in recent weeks. Due to an ongoing scar tissue issue, the 36-year-old was unable to participate in Miami’s 2-1 loss to Houston Dynamo in the US Open Cup final.

Truth be told, his teammates suffered without him as they fell short in the cup final on Wednesday with a particularly listless performance. Miami’s chances of making the postseason are now in the last-chance zone, therefore it is imperative that the team’s talisman rediscovers his rhythm.Fans will be optimistic that Messi’s injury problems are finally behind him after seeing him walking on the pitch at the Herons’ training facility while wearing training gear. He didn’t work out before the final but was seen using a phone while his teammates were put through their paces.He would eventually not even make the bench for the lopsided loss versus Houston, along with fellow standout Jordi Alba. Instead, both were forced to watch helplessly as their team’s chance to win a second piece of hardware for the season was destroyed.Now that Miami’s cup commitments are over, head coach Gerardo Martino is well aware of the challenge his team faces in the MLS. It’s now or never for his squad if they want to make the playoffs because they are five points behind New York City in the race for the last postseason spot and have two games left to play.Five regular-season games remain for the Herons, thus the concern surrounding captain Messi’s health comes at a rather bad time. Martino said that his medical staff had urged him to leave the star out of his squad for the championship game after Miami’s loss in the cup final.He declared: “He shouldn’t have played; it was too hazardous, even for a short while. He will participate in league games going forward, but it will depend on what the medical staff advises.After a lengthy season that included two cup runs, he was also not overly optimistic about the general state of his club, saying: “I saw a worn team, the consequence of so many matches.” The technical staff would have to play Inter Miami’s game on Saturday if this game went into extra time.The biggest sort of layoff of Messi’s club career thus far is likely to occur if the Fort Lauderdale team fails to advance to the postseason.