Lionel Messi all but confirmed he will not play in Inter Miami’s match against Atlanta on Saturday night when he was spotted at his son’s training in South Florida.
The 36-year-old, who has scored 11 goals in as many games for Miami over the past two months, was left out of the Argentina team to face Bolivia on Tuesday with a mystery fitness problem and will now sit out the Herons’ MLS match. .
But while the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner apparently won’t make an appearance, at least one Messi was on the pitch on Saturday.
After Tata Martino’s side traveled to Georgia to take on Atlanta, Messi stayed behind in Miami to watch his son Thiago train.
Thiago, who followed in his father’s footsteps and joined Inter Miami’s Under-12 team last month, was in action on Saturday and Messi went into father mode to support his son.
Lionel Messi was spotted on Saturday morning watching his eldest son Thiago train
He was seen sitting on the grass with his two youngest sons, Mateo and Ciro, as they watched
Messi will miss an Inter Miami match for the first time since arriving in the United States
The Argentinian, dressed in a baggy T-shirt and rolled-up jeans, was spotted on the sidelines with his favorite mate tea in hand.
The global superstar even appeared to be coaching a bit as he gestured with his free hand to the players on the field.
He was later seen casually sitting against a wall in the facility next to his two younger sons Mateo and Ciro, both of whom had worse Inter Miami jerseys.
Unfazed by the attention, Messi casually waved and shook hands with the other academy players during training.
Despite having trained with the team on Friday, Messi later that evening shared a video of himself on Instagram opening a pizza box from Banchero Miami, an Argentinian pizza restaurant located on the city’s famous beach.
Earlier in the day, Inter’s official Instagram account had uploaded photos of the likes of Sergio Busquets, Josef Martinez, Leonardo Campana and DeAndre Yedlin boarding a plane to Atlanta, but no Messi.
Martino therefore appears likely to be without his star man when Inter resume league play on Saturday evening.
Messi was substituted late in Argentina’s 1-0 win over Ecuador last Thursday after scoring the only goal of the match.
He hoped to be fit in time for the match after training at Inter on Friday
Messi shared an Instagram story on Friday that also revealed that he has remained in Miami
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said after the match that he had ‘felt something’, while the match winner himself said he was ‘a bit tired’.
However, on Tuesday he did not even make the bench for the second round of the World Cup qualifiers.
After returning to the United States this week, Messi hoped he would be fit in time for the game against Atlanta as he trained with his teammates on Friday.
But with the US Open Cup final just under a fortnight away, Martino could well maintain his captain’s fitness as he prepares.
The 36-year-old is said to have undergone precautionary tests at a medical center in Argentina earlier this month, although the problem he is suffering from remains unclear.
Messi was left out of Argentina’s squad to play against Bolivia in Tuesday’s World Cup qualifier
Inter will be crossing their fingers and toes to ensure Messi is fit and can shoot by the time the US Open Cup final arrives.
He has made an exciting start to his career in Miami since joining from PSG this summer. He averaged one goal per match and inspired the team to glory in the Leagues Cup and a place in the showpiece US Open Cup.
Although two of his 11 appearances have come from the bench, Messi has yet to miss a game for his new club heading into this weekend’s outing in Atlanta.
It remains to be seen whether he will be fit in time for Inter’s next MLS match against Toronto at DRV PNK Stadium next Wednesday.