Lionel Messi is set to miss an Inter Miami game for the first time since arriving in the States after appearing to confirm he has not travelled to Atlanta this weekend.
Messi, who has scored 11 goals in as many games for Miami over the past two months, was left out of Argentina’s team to face Bolivia on Tuesday with a mystery fitness problem.
Just a few days after he was seen leaving a medical center in his home country, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni revealed the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner ‘did not feel comfortable’ to play in their World Cup qualifier, sparking fears that he could be unavailable upon his return to Miami this week.
And despite training with the team on Friday, later that evening Messi shared a clip of himself on Instagram opening a pizza box from Banchero Miami – an Argentine pizza restaurant located on the city’s famous beach – all but confirming he has not travelled to Atlanta for Inter’s latest MLS fixture.
Earlier in the day, Inter’s official Instagram account had uploaded photos of the likes of Sergio Busquets, Josef Martinez and DeAndre Yedlin boarding the plane to Atlanta.
Lionel Messi is set to miss an Inter Miami game for the first time since arriving in the States
Messi shared an Instagram story which appears to show he has stayed in Miami this weekend
Tata Martino therefore looks likely to be without his star man when Inter resumes its league campaign on Saturday night.
Messi was substituted off late on into Argentina’s 1-0 win over Ecuador last Thursday after scoring the only goal of the game.
Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni said after the game that he had ‘felt something’ – while the match-winner himself said he was just ‘a little bit tired.’
However, he didn’t even make the bench for the second round of World Cup qualifiers on Tuesday.
After returning to the States this week Messi raised hope that he would be fit in time to face Atlanta when he was seen training alongside his teammates on Friday.
However, with the US Open Cup final to come in just under two weeks’ time Martino may well be preserving his captain’s fitness in preparation.
