Messi decision made for Inter Miami vs Atlanta United

The Florida franchise has already shown its worth without their Argentine talisman in the team, but fans had their fingers crossed that he would be ready.

Calum RocheEnglish_ASBryan ArellanoBryxn_AEstados UnidosUpdate: Sep 16th, 2023 02:00 EDT

LUIS ROBAYOAFP

The uncertainty with Lionel Messi was rumbling once again as Friday’s training session got underway ahead Inter Miami’s Major League Soccer match against Atlanta United. First team coach Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino spoke to the media and suggested that there were serious doubts over the presence of the Argentine star.

“He is fine, but we are still going to wait until the end of training to make a final decision. We will be careful with him because we have a lot of important games in a short span,” Martino explained. “Our idea is not to allow him to get injured or any other player, for that matter, so we will talk on a day-to-day basis and we will see how they feel to know which player is available for each of the matches.”

As we return to MLS action following the international break we already knew that things were far from certain given that Messi did not play in the match between Bolivia and Argentina.

Will Messi play for Inter Miami against Atlanta?

Finally the decision arrived and Tata said that his new superstar would not travel with the team for the Atlanta game. This is clearly a blow as The Herons continue on their unlikely quest to reach a playoff spot but there is still enough talent in the team to pick up another three points.

ÚLTIMO MOMENTO – MESSI NO VIAJÓ A ATLANTA PARA EL DUELO DE MLS. No jugará este sábado. ℹ️ @FedeBueno73📺 #ESPNenStarPlus pic.twitter.com/1iFsjX8YFM

— SportsCenter (@SC_ESPN) September 16, 2023

“Messi is stretching his recovery period after that qualifiers match at the Monumental against Ecuador and he has been left out of the squad,” came the report confirming the news. The thinking is that more time off with get the Barcelona legend into tip-top shape for a run of key games including the final of the US Open Cup.

How many Messis is enough?

Can Miami make the playoffs?