This Wednesday Inter Miami will play the final of the US Open Cup against Houston Dynamo, at home.
Messi, who has had physical problems in recent weeks, will push to the end his options to be present in the match that will be played from 9:30 p.m. at the DRV PNK stadium in Fort Lauderdale and will be broadcast by TyC Sports.
In that sense, Tata Martino, technical director of the Inter Maimireferred to the situation of the Argentine star: “Lionel Messi will try until the last moment to be able to play in Wednesday’s final of the US Open Cup.
Martino acknowledged that Messi He would already be ruled out for this match if there was not a title at stake.
Messi and Jordi Alba, who were absent in Sunday’s game against Orlando City in the MLS, were not present in the first 15 minutes of training on Tuesday that were open to the press.
“Tomorrow we will agree on what is best. Here there are three issues: the player, the final and what is coming. These are the three scenarios that we have to evaluate,” said the coach.
Martino explained that Messi’s problem does not require surgery but to determine the period of rest that is needed for full recovery.
“In a league match we would not take any type of risk. But it is a final, 90 or 120 minutes that separate you from a new title and it makes sense that we expect what we have to expect and run the risks we have to take. If it were another game we wouldn’t take any risk,” he admitted.
In previous days, Martino pointed out that Messi has suffered muscle fatigue and discomfort due to a scar from an old injury.
The Flea He was absent from the South American qualifying match against Bolivia on September 12 and from Inter in Atlanta.
The 20 of September Messi He started against Toronto but had to be substituted before halftime, like Alba.
Possible team lineups
Inter Miami: Drake Callender – DeAndre Yedlin, Tomás Avilés, Kamal Miller, Jordi Alba (or Noah Allen) – Sergio Busquets, Dixon Arroyo, Benjamin Cremaschi – Robert Taylor, Lionel Messi (or Facundo Farías) and Leonardo Campana. Coach: Gerardo Martino
Houston Dynamo: Steve Clark – Franco Escobar, Ethan Bartlow, Teenage Hadebe, Brad Smith – Luis Alberto Caicedo, Héctor Herrera, Nelson Quiñones, Adalberto Carrasquilla – Sebastian Kowalczyk and Ibrahim Aliyu. DT: Ben Olsen.
Source: AFP
