Lionel Messi will miss Inter Miami’s game against NYFC again due to a muscle injury.
Messi was inactive for Wednesday’s US Open Cup final against Houston due to a leg problem, marking his fourth absence in his last five games for club and country.
And it is unclear whether Messi will continue to be sidelined as Inter Miami continues its quest to reach the Major League Soccer playoffs next week.
His presence helped put Miami (9-15-5, 32 points) within striking distance of the final playoff spot. Miami picked up 10 of those points in Messi’s four league games, going 3-0-1 with him in the lineup.
Messi didn’t play on Wednesday and so Houston Dynamo took full advantage to win a trophy on their home pitch.
The first half wasn’t an easy day for Messi – his team lost 2-0 at half-time
Lionel Messi walks onto the pitch during an Inter Miami CF training session in Florida on Friday
Messi was once again not included in Inter Miami’s official line-up for the game
In Messi’s absence, the Dynamo’s Griffin Dorsey and Amine Bassi scored first-half goals and Houston – with NBA star James Harden, part of the team’s ownership group, watching from the stands – edged Inter Miami 2-1 and won the US Open Cup.
Josef Martinez scored a goal in second-half stoppage time for Inter Miami, but it wasn’t enough as Messi could only watch from the team bench.
Inter Miami coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino said on Wednesday night that it was “not wise” to think about using Messi against Houston, although he indicated that the team expects him to play on Saturday when the MLS competitions will resume for the club. Until then, Messi will continue to be evaluated.
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner was substituted in the first half of a game against Toronto on September 20 with a leg problem and did not play in the team’s 1-1 draw in Orlando on Sunday. This was the third game he has missed entirely in the last two weeks – two for club, one for national team – and missing a final on Wednesday suggests the problem could be worse than the team suspected .
NYCFC are suddenly on the rise and will be hoping they can do enough to get the crucial three points that a win on Saturday night brings.
Messi sat next to his wife Antonela Roccuzzo to watch Miami in the final
NYCFC (8-10-13, 37 points) is trying to make it three straight wins for the first time this year and has scored eight goals in a five-game unbeaten streak (3-0-2) that has them in ninth place has in the Eastern Conference. NYCFC starts the week with the same number of points as CF Montreal, but with three fewer wins.
“We have to be as good as we can defensively,” NYCFC coach Nick Cushing said. “We have been good in the last few weeks and we have to keep it that way.”
With three games to go, NYCFC is trying to fend off DC United, who visit next week and have a point in front of them. NYCFC is also three ahead of the New York Red Bulls and Chicago Fire.
NYCFC kept the streak alive with a 3-0 home win over Toronto FC on Sunday afternoon. Andres Perea scored in the second minute, while Andres Jasson and Julian Fernandez also scored, giving NYCFC three goals for the third time this year.