What started out as a rumor has been confirmed by Inter Miami. Lionel Messi will not be available to play the title match in the U.S. Open Cup final.
The Argentine ace was subbed off from last week's game against Toronto after just 35 minutes, starting off the alarms about his fitness for this game. The player followed Jordi Alba's footsteps and eventually left the pitch during that game, and while most fans and experts believed he would be around, "La Pulga" was not able to recover from his muscular issues.
The decision was revealed by Inter Miami's X (formerly Twitter) feed.
Our official @opencup line up #MIAvHOU | 8:30PM ET pic.twitter.com/cLPkUfdxb5
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) September 27, 2023
If Messi is not available to play during the weekend, Inter Miami could be facing serious problems to make it to the MLS Playoffs, as the Herons are 14th in their Conference with five games to go and five points between them and New York City, the team they get to face next weekend.