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Lionel Messi looked utterly dejected on the bench after being forced out of Inter Miami\u2019s victory over Toronto on Wednesday. A superb 4-0 win at DRV PNK Stadium was soured by an injury to their superstar in the first half, and there were ominous signs as the camera panned to the 36-year-old on the sidelines.<\/p>\n
Messi had to be replaced after just 37 minutes with the score at 0-0, and the Argentine\u2019s manner as he took his seat on the bench has left fans concerned that the issue could be significant. The seven-time Ballon d\u2019Or winner leaned back in his chair and looked to the skies with a deflated expression.<\/p>\n
It was his first game back after being held out of Inter\u2019s previous game \u2013 a 5-2 defeat at Atlanta United \u2013 due to fatigue. Messi had an injury scare on international duty with Argentina earlier this month, which forced him to miss a World Cup qualifier in Bolivia.<\/p>\n
Messi has been ruled out of Sunday\u2019s in-state showdown at Orlando City by head coach Gerardo \u201cTata\u201d Martino, and the forward\u2019s availability for Wednesday\u2019s U.S. Open Cup final against Houston Dynamo is in significant doubt. His former Barcelona teammate Jordi Alba also suffered an injury in the first half on Wednesday, meaning Miami could be without two crucial players in pursuit of a second trophy of the season.<\/p>\n
“There is no chance [Messi and Alba] will be there on Sunday,” Matino said. “I know we have a final to play [on Wednesday] but they won’t go near the pitch if they can’t play.<\/p>\n
“The scans [Messi] had with the national team, they didn’t show any injury. We still saved him to be safe. We don’t think he has a muscular injury. That’s also from a conversation I just had with him. But we have to continue being careful. We’ll look at it the next few days.”<\/p>\n
The victory did Miami\u2019s hopes of making the MLS playoffs the world of good, closing to within five points of a play-in place, but they face a period without their talisman. Martino\u2019s team has not lost a game that Messi has played in since he arrived in June, and the former Paris Saint-Germain star inspired the run to Leagues Cup glory last month \u2013 lifting the first trophy in the club\u2019s young history.<\/p>\n
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Miami Have six MLS games remaining on the slate, and many of the team\u2019s playoff rivals have played more games, meaning Martino and his players still have a realistic chance of bursting into the playoff picture.<\/p>\n
But Messi\u2019s availability will be crucial to that run. Although his arrival in South Florida \u2013 alongside Alba and fellow Barca legend Sergio Busquets \u2013 has raised the level of the players around him, 13th-place Miami will surely need its talismanic leader to get the ninth-place finish required to qualify for the Eastern Conference play-in game.<\/p>\n
Martino and his staff are waiting in hope of good news on Messi and Alba with crucial games fast approaching.<\/p>\n