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Lionel Messi has all but confirmed he will not play in Inter Miami’s clash against Atlanta on Saturday night, as 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 Argentina’s squad to face Bolivia on Tuesday due to a mysterious fitness problem and will now be absent from the Herons’ MLS game. .
But, even though 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 team traveled to Georgia to face Atlanta, Messi stayed in Miami to watch his son, Thiago, train instead.
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 daddy mode to support his son.
Lionel Messi was spotted watching his eldest son, Thiago, train on Saturday morning
He was seen sitting on the lawn with his two youngest sons, Mateo and Ciro, as they watched
Messi expected to miss an Inter Miami match for the first time since arriving in the United States
The Argentinian, dressed in a loose t-shirt and rolled up denim shorts, was spotted on the sidelines with his favorite mate tea in hand.
The global superstar even appeared to be doing a bit of coaching as he waved to players on the pitch with his free hand.
He was later seen sitting casually against a wall of the establishment alongside his two youngest sons, Mateo and Ciro, who were both wearing the worst Inter Miami jerseys.
Unfazed by the attention, Messi greeted and shook hands with other academy players at training.
Despite training with the team on Friday, later in the evening Messi shared a video of himself on Instagram opening a pizza box from Banchero Miami, an Argentinian pizzeria located on the city’s famous beach.
Earlier in the day, Inter’s official Instagram account uploaded photos of Sergio Busquets, Josef Martinez, Leonardo Campana and DeAndre Yedlin boarding the plane to Atlanta, but not Messi.
Martino is therefore likely to be without his star man when Inter resume their league campaign on Saturday evening.
Messi was a late substitute in Argentina’s 1-0 win over Ecuador last Thursday after scoring the only goal of the match.
He had raised hopes of being fit in time for the match after training with Inter on Friday.
Messi shared an Instagram story on Friday that also appears to show he remained in Miami.
Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni said after the match that he “felt something”, while the winner himself said he was just “a bit tired”.
However, he didn’t even make the bench for Tuesday’s second round of World Cup qualifying.
After returning to the United States this week, Messi raised hopes 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 taking place in just under two weeks, Martino may well preserve his captain’s fitness in preparation.
The 36-year-old reportedly underwent precautionary tests at a medical center in Argentina earlier this month, although it remains unclear what problem he is suffering from.
Messi has been left out of Argentina’s squad to face Bolivia on Tuesday in a World Cup qualifier.
Inter will be crossing their fingers and toes that Messi will be fit and firing by the time the US Open Cup final rolls around.
He has made a blistering start to his career at Miami since arriving from PSG in the summer, averaging a goal per game while inspiring the team to League Cup glory and a place in the Coupe de la Ligue showpiece. the US Open.
While two of his 11 appearances have come from the bench, Messi has yet to miss a single match for his new club ahead of 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.