Miami: The Lionel Messi football legend will not take the field for Inter Miami in its important league cup match against Pumas Unam.
The star striker has collected a minor muscle injury, said his coach, added that the player needs time to recover before playing again.
The Argentine striker suffered what Mascherano described as a “minor muscle injury” in his upper right leg during Miami’s victory over Neocaxa last Saturday.
While there is no established schedule for the return of Messi, Mascherano was still hoping that the star striker would soon return to the field.
“Within the bad news, they are good news,” Mascherano told journalists.
“Usually, he recovers very well from injuries and, above all, he usually does it with speed, so we will see. But clearly, for tomorrow he is not available. Then we will see how he feels, how he progresses.”
Messi, who leads the league with 18 goals in the MLS matches this season, helped guide Miami to the Leagues Cup title in 2023 shortly after joining the brotherhoods.
The Inter Miami is likely to need a victory over Pumas in its last match in the group phase to reach the quarterfinals of the Leagues Cup, which includes MLS teams and the superior division of Mexico.
If Miami progresses to the tie, Messi would have two weeks to recover before the quarterfinals.
The next MLAMI MLS meeting is scheduled for Sunday against Orlando.
