On Tuesday, Lionel Messi was seen working out alone at Inter Miami’s training base, which means he is getting closer to coming back from illness.
Messi hasn’t played for Miami since last month’s 4-0 win over Toronto when he hurt a muscle and had to leave the game after 37 minutes.
Tata Martino hasn’t had his leader for the last three games, and the team has suffered because of it.
Furthermore, Miami lost four important points in MLS games against Orlando and New York. They also lost to Houston at home in the US Open Cup final last week.
Fans are waiting for Messi to come back as their push to make the MLS playoffs this season comes to an end. With four games to play, ninth-place Montreal is now only four points behind them.
Another possible plus for Miami is that their World Cup-winning leader was seen training alone at their Florida Blue Training Center complex on Tuesday, which means he is getting closer to a return.
On the day before their trip to Chicago Fire, Messi did some individual drills with and without the ball to help his recovery from a muscle injury. He still couldn’t join the group workout, though.
Gaston Edul, an Argentine writer, says that the 36-year-old will not play in Wednesday’s game at Soldier Field against Chicago.
Miami is hoping that he will be able to play in their last game before the international break on Saturday at DRV PNK against FC Cincinnati.
For Martino’s team to still have a chance at making the playoffs, they need to win at Chicago.
They are currently four points behind the team they play on Wednesday because they have played one less game.
After this weekend’s game against Cincinnati, Miami will play Charlotte twice more this season, once at home and once on the road.
Given how big of an impact Messi has had since moving to the United States this summer, his play in those games could be very important for the team’s chances of making the playoffs.
The Barcelona legend got 11 goals in his first 12 games for the team, which helped them make the playoffs and win the League Cup.