By Joiner Martinez
Sep 13, 2024, 4:30 PM EDT
After a two-month wait, Lionel Messi will be back in action this weekend with the Inter Miami jersey. Gerardo Martino, coach of the Garzas, confirmed that the Flea will be present this Saturday against Philadelphia at Chase Stadium for the 31st round of the MLS.
“He is fine now. He returned to training yesterday. He is scheduled for tomorrow’s match. After training we will define the strategy with him. But yes, he is available. We are all happy to have the best player in the world back in the team that was on a positive run,” Tata told the media.
The coach clarified that they have not yet decided how long he will be on the field: “Two months out, for which he prepared in a different way. Probably the time was something to take into account if he had played in Chicago. From Chicago until now he had 15 days of good training. The fact of not going to Chicago had to do with the chance that against Philadelphia he could play minutes or start playing.”
These words are linked to the fact that Leo could have been present the previous match, when Inter Miami beat Chicago Fire 4-1 as a visitor. However, the coaching staff opted to give him more time to continue getting in shape.
This weekend could also see the debut of the new signing, the Argentine goalkeeper Oscar Ustari, who at 38 years old arrived from Chilean football to fight for the position with Drake Callender and due to the injury of the substitute CJ Dos Santos.
He will finally make his comeback after a two-month wait, 62 days in total, since he suffered a ligament injury to his right ankle during the Copa América final against Colombia on July 14.
This Saturday, Leo will start his quest to reach Cristiano Ronaldo’s record as the top scorer in the history of football: he is 63 goals away. The 37-year-old from Rosario has scored 838 goals and provided 374 assists in the 1,069 games he has played in his career.
Continue reading:
Another Argentine: Oscar Ustari is the new goalkeeper for Messi’s Inter Miami
Lionel Messi’s return to regularity at Inter Miami is known
Messi practiced with his Inter Miami teammates, but will not play against the Chicago Fire