Lionel Messi fights to be fit for Inter Miami’s Leagues Cup quarterfinals collision against the Mexican side Tigres Uanl on Wednesday, head coach Javier Mascherano revealed.
Argentinian superstar Messi, who has been struggling with muscle problems since the beginning of August, trained separately from his teammates on Tuesday while preparing for their last -like confrontation with Tigres.
Messi, 38, returned to the line-up of Miami on Saturday after an absence of two weeks and scored a goal after a replacement in a 3-1 victory over Los Angeles Galaxy.
However, the World Cup winner seemed to be in physical discomfort during his performance in the second half, which made doubts about his fitness for the Miami campaign in the Leagues Cup, the cross-border club competition for Major League Soccer and Mexico’s Liga-MX.
Miami coach Mascherano admitted on Tuesday that Messi’s fitness was questioning Tigres for the collision, but stopped the pronunciation of him from the fight.
«Leo did not train with the group; he trained separately,» Mascherano told a press conference in Fort Lauderdale. «He felt uncomfortable during the 45 minutes he played (on Saturday). We will see how he is doing during the day and tomorrow, but he is not excluded,» Mascherano added.
«I can’t tell you today if he will play because it depends a lot on how he feels.»
The absence of Messi would be a blow to Miami’s hope to get the title of the Leagues Cup back that they won in 2023 during the fairytale first season of the Argentinian Star in MLS.
Mascherano said that Miami will be confronted with a stiff test against TIGRES, the eight times Mexican champions, in which they are described as «a team with a lot of offensive power.»
«The goal is to neutralize Tigres, to be the protagonists, to have the ball and play the game at our pace,» Mascherano noted.
«They are a tough opponent, but we have the weapons to compete.»
Miami’s game with TIGRES is one of the four quarter-cup quarte finals for Wednesday.
Toluca in Mexico is confronted with Orlando City for Los Angeles Galaxy -Gastheer Pachuca, while the Seattle Sounders accept Puebla at home.
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