09/20/23 10:41:00
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09/20 22:39 CDT Lionel Messi will miss another game for Inter Miami after
leaving Toronto match early
Lionel Messi will miss another game for Inter Miami after leaving Toronto match
early
By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Sports Writer
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) --- Lionel Messi returned to Inter Miami's lineup on
Wednesday night. It was a short-lived comeback, and now he's sidelined again.
Messi was subbed off in the 37th minute of Inter Miami's match against Toronto,
after spending a few minutes laboring with what appeared to be a leg issue.
Miami came up big without him, winning 4-0 to move within five points of the
final playoff spot in Major League Soccer's Eastern Conference.
Robert Taylor, who came on for Messi, had two goals and an assist. But Messi's
status overshadowed everything, and Inter Miami coach Gerardo "Tata" Martino
said after the game that the Argentine star will miss Sunday's game at Orlando.
"He had an old injury that had been bothering him," Martino said, as relayed
through a team official who translated his remarks from Spanish to English.
In an earlier answer that was not translated, Martino said Messi would miss at
least one more match. The 36-year-old Messi had missed two matches --- one for
club, the other for country --- in recent days, after sitting out Argentina's
World Cup qualifying win at Bolivia on Sept. 12, and Inter Miami's 5-2 loss at
Atlanta United this past Saturday.
Fatigue was cited in both cases, and the team did not provide any diagnosis of
what is troubling the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner now. The game was scoreless
when Messi was subbed out.
It was the second big injury blow for Inter Miami on Wednesday. Jordi Alba ---
another celebrated midseason addition --- had to leave in the 34th minute,
shortly before Messi's night was over. Alba will not play Sunday, either.
"We had to step up," Taylor said.
Facundo Farias and second-half sub Benjamin Cremaschi had the other goals.
"It shows the depth that we have on our team," goalie Drake Callender said.
Messi had a couple of chances Wednesday, and appeared to stop running somewhat
abruptly after carrying the ball deep into the Toronto box in the 33rd minute.
He was barely engaged after that, leaning forward at one point as if to stretch
the back of his legs, then eventually took off his captain's armband ---
actually trying a long pass while holding the armband --- before waiting for
play to stop so he could depart.
Messi didn't even wait to come off the field before unlacing his cleats,
lowering his socks and removing his shin guards. He placed the captain's band
onto the arm of DeAndre Yedlin --- who was Inter Miami's captain before Messi
began his stint with the team in July --- and now it's anyone's guess when
Messi will wear it again. The team would likely want him to play in the U.S.
Open Cup final on Sept. 27.
Martino, per the team's translation, said Messi was removed from Wednesday's
game "to be safe."
"We don't think it's a muscular injury. That's also from a conversation that I
just had with him," Martino said via the translation, even though Messi was
stretching in a manner that suggested otherwise before leaving the field. "But
we have to continue being careful and we'll look at him the next few days."
Wednesday's match was the first of what will be six for Inter Miami in a span
of 17 days. The team plays at Orlando on Sunday, then will host Houston in the
U.S. Open Cup final on Sept. 27. That will be followed by three more MLS
matches in short order: against New York City FC on Sept. 30, at Chicago on
Oct. 4 and playing host to Cincinnati on Oct. 7.
The daunting stretch will be even tougher if Messi isn't around. Miami entered
Wednesday seven points behind D.C. United for the final playoff spot in the
East, with two matches in hand. D.C. United picked up a point by tying Atlanta
on Wednesday, so Inter Miami's three points for its win cut the deficit to five.
Despite its place in the standings, Inter Miami now controls its postseason
destiny. Win out in MLS matches, and a team that was at the bottom of the
conference before Messi arrived will be in the playoffs.
The Atlanta game halted what had been a 12-match unbeaten streak for Inter
Miami since Messi debuted for the team against Mexican side Cruz Azul in the
Leagues Cup on July 21. Inter Miami had gone 8-0-4 in those 12 matches, with
three of those games that ended as ties being outcomes for the team to
celebrate after advancing on penalty kicks --- two in the Leagues Cup,
including the final against Nashville for the Miami club's first-ever trophy,
and another in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals.
Messi has now appeared in 12 matches over two months for Miami, most of them in
Leagues Cup and U.S. Open Cup competition. He ha 11 goals and eight assists,
and one goal and two assists in four MLS matches.
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AP MLS: https://apnews.com/hub/major-league-soccer
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