Will Lionel Messi play in Inter Miami’s U.S. Open Cup final on Wednesday?
Inter Miami has a chance to win its second championship in the Messi era, after winning the Leagues Cup Aug. 19, but it’s unclear whether the world’s greatest soccer player will be on the pitch for the match.
Inter Miami will host the Houston Dynamo at 8:30 p.m. ET Wednesday night. And Messi is still considered day-to-day with a nagging injury that has prevented him from playing in several matches already this month.
Could Messi start the Open final and leave early? Could Messi come off the bench as a late substitute? Or does he play at all?
“Leo, we will decide [Wednesday] based on how he is feeling,” Inter Miami coach Tata Martino said during a Tuesday news conference.
The U.S. Open Cup final Wednesday night will be available to stream on the CBS Sports Golazo Network.
Messi’s injury won’t require him to have surgery, Martino said definitively during his news conference Wednesday.
“He doesn’t need surgery or anything like that. It’s just a matter of how much time the player needs to rest in order to play the next game,” Martino said.
Messi is dealing with scar tissue from a previous injury, Martino said after Messi’s last outing against Toronto FC on Sept. 20.
“He had an old injury that had been bothering him. The scans he had with the national team, they didn’t show any injury. We still saved him to be safe,” Martino said of Messi.
“We don’t think he has a muscular injury. That’s also from a conversation I just had with him. But we have to continue being careful.”
Messi and Jordi Alba were not present with Inter Miami teammates during the first 15 minutes of practice open to the media on Tuesday.
But Martino said Messi and Alba did appear on the pitch for training after the media left.
“They came out after you all left,” Martino said with a smile.
If Inter Miami was not playing in a final, Martino said Messi would not be playing. But because Inter Miami is competing in a championship game, the idea is on the table.
“We’re talking about Leo: We have risk all the time, and we have to lower that risk,” Martino said.
“If it wasn’t a final, we wouldn’t take any risk. But because it is a final there is a chance we take that risk.”
Martino’s comments might not bode well for Messi's participation in Inter Miami’s upcoming schedule following the U.S. Open Cup final.
Messi did not score or deliver an assist in his 37 minutes of action against Toronto, but he had several attempts on goal during his time on the pitch.
Messi was either fatigued or felt something during the 34th minute before his exit. He was bent over in the middle area of the field. He appeared to stretch his right leg out and was tending to the calf area of his leg.
The sequence came after he aggressively tried to run from midfield toward the box, where his approach was cut off by a defender, forcing him out wide and away from the net.
Two minutes later, Messi surrendered the captain’s armband and headed to the sidelines.
Messi did not play in Inter Miami’s 1-1 draw against Orlando City last Sunday, which followed his action in the Toronto match.
Messi did not travel with Inter Miami for its 5-2 loss to Atlanta United in Atlanta Sept. 16 after returning from the Argentine National Team.
Messi also missed the second of two games with Argentina, a 3-0 win over Bolivia on Sept. 12, to rest.
With five MLS matches remaining (not counting the Open Cup final), Inter Miami has 32 points in the Eastern Conference standings.
Inter Miami is ranked 14th out of 15 teams, but only five points away from the ninth and final playoff spot, where New York City FC sits with 37 points.
The U.S. Open Cup final on Sept. 27 will be available to stream on the CBS Sports Golazo Network.
But the rest of Inter Miami’s matches and the rest of MLS are available to watch via the MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Keep in mind, should Messi lead Inter Miami to the MLS playoffs, some of those postseason games also could be broadcast on FOX.
