Messi available to return from injury for Inter Miami, Mascherano says

Lionel Messi is expected to be part of Inter Miami’s matchday squad on Saturday, when the club hosts the defending MLS Cup champion LA Galaxy at Chase Stadium. Head coach Javier Mascherano told reporters on Friday that Messi is cleared to rejoin the team after missing Miami’s last two matches with a right leg injury.

“Leo is fine. He’s been training with the team since Wednesday,” Mascherano said. “Barring anything strange today, he should make the squad for Saturday’s match.”

Messi injured his hamstring on August 2 in the first half of Miami’s win over Necaxa in the Leagues Cup. He has since sat out of Miami’s matches against Pumas, a 3-1 win for the MLS side, and a 4-1 defeat to Orlando City last Sunday in an MLS regular season game that humbled Mascherano’s men.

Without Messi, Miami was outplayed in Orlando. The attacking edge and competitiveness that Messi adds were glaring omissions on the day — something that Mascherano could not replace against their Florida rivals.

“This can’t happen again,” the manager said after the loss.

Miami currently sits sixth in the Eastern Conference with three games in hand following participation in the Club World Cup this summer. The chances are still there for Miami to make up ground and challenge for the conference’s top seed and another Supporters’ Shield.

Still, managing Messi’s fitness ahead of a busy final two weeks of August could determine how eager Mascherano is to go all-out in both the regular season and Leagues Cup. And after signing Messi’s Argentina teammate Rodrigo De Paul this summer, Miami’s MLS Cup aspirations were further underscored. Miami has reached the Leagues Cup quarterfinals, too, and awaits a date with tournament contender Tigres next Wednesday. After Miami’s first win of the tournament over Atlas, Messi told Apple TV that Leagues Cup is a tournament “that we want to win.”

Orlando City, Seattle and the Galaxy joined Miami as the four MLS teams to advance from the group stage. The winner, runner up and third-place team all qualify for the Concacaf Champions Cup. That competition is obviously important to Miami – it is MLS’s potential gateway to the next Club World Cup – so one shouldn’t expect Mascherano to take it lightly. It’s also imperative for Messi, 38, to maintain his match fitness by playing in meaningful matches. Messi is currently tied with Nashville SC striker Sam Surridge for the top spot in the MLS Golden Boot race with 18 goals.

Messi was suspended by MLS for Miami’s league match against FC Cincinnati on July 26 after opting out of the league’s All-Star Game July 23. Upon his return against Atlas in Leagues Cup, Messi said that he needed to avoid missing games in order to compete at his highest level. Rest is one thing, but to lose his match fitness during an important stretch of games for Miami is clearly a concern for the Argentina captain.

In September, the defending world champions will close out their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign with a home match in Buenos Aires against Venezuela, followed by an away test in Quito, Ecuador. Those two games are more than likely Messi’s last qualifiers as Argentina’s captain and World Cup hero. And even though Argentina has already qualified, it’s conceivable that he’d like to be available to celebrate La Albiceleste’s dominant campaign. The Argentina Football Federation will hope to feature Messi during the October and November FIFA international windows as well.

This season was always going to be a heavier lift for Messi and Miami with the addition of the Club World Cup to an already congested schedule. Lessons will have certainly been learned after Miami ran out of gas in the first round of the MLS playoffs last season, crashing out against Atlanta United in one of the biggest playoff upsets in league history.

(Top photo: Leonardo Fernandez/Getty Images)