Inter Miami may be sweating on the fitness of Lionel Messi ahead of Tuesday night’s Leagues Cup semifinal against the Philadelphia Union.
The Argentina superstar appeared to pick up a minor injury during training on Monday, though head coach Tata Martino was quick to play down any concerns over his side’s superstar.
“I was only at a part of the session because I had a meeting afterwards and was finishing preparing, so I didn’t see exactly what happened. But if it was something serious, I’m sure everyone would have been shocked,” Martino said at a press conference. “Since everyone was fine, I imagine nothing happened.”
ESPN Argentina captured the moment that Messi appeared to tweak his ankle.
😧 El Susto de Messi!
Here‘a video of the moment that Leo Messi seemed to tweak his left ankle or leg during a passing drill.
To reiterate: he continued on and has since traveled with Inter Miami to Philadelphia.
🎥 @ESPNArgentina#InterMiamiCF #Messipic.twitter.com/7TcNzsXart
— Franco Panizo (@FrancoPanizo) August 14, 2023
Messi did at least manage to make the journey to Pennsylvania, where Inter Miami will aim to continue its perfect start to life with the Argentine star at Subaru Park in Chester on Tuesday.
Inter has won all five of its matches since Messi’s arrival, including a shootout win at FC Dallas in the Leagues Cup round of 16.
Messi has hit the ground running since his move to south Florida, scoring eight goals in just five matches. His latest strike came at the end of an easy 4-0 win over Charlotte FC in the quarterfinal.
The Union promise to be one of Inter Miami’s toughest tests in the Leagues Cup, with last season’s MLS Cup runners-up currently sitting third in the MLS Eastern Conference standings.
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