Lionel Messi was substituted due to muscle fatigue in the 37th minute of Inter Miami CF’s 4-0 win over Toronto FC on Wednesday, only minutes after his former Barcelona teammate Jordi Alba had also left the field.
Miami coach Gerardo Martino said after the match that both Alba and Messi would be evaluated in the coming days, but that neither player would be available to play against Orlando City on Sunday so that they might be ready for the U.S. Open Cup final against Houston Dynamo next Wednesday.
“There is no chance they will be there on Sunday. I know we have a final to play [next Wednesday] but they won’t go near the pitch if they can’t play,” said Martino.
Messi and Alba, who both started the game after not making the trip for Saturday’s 5-2 loss at Atlanta United FC, were not involved in any particularly heavy challenges or visibly limping but were clearly in some kind of physical discomfort.
“They trained normally and we felt like they were ready to play,” Martino said through an interpreter. “I don’t believe it’s anything new or anything worse than what they had before. It’s fatigue. We don’t think it’s a muscular injury. That’s also from a conversation that I just had with [Messi]. But we have to continue being careful and we’ll look at him the next few days.”
He added: “I’m cautious about what can happen and after talking to them, I’m less pessimistic than I was when I had to bring them off.”
Both players went straight to the bench rather than the locker room after leaving the field, and Miami’s Facundo Farías scored a goal shortly after to give the home team a 1-0 lead at halftime. Robert Taylor then scored two spectacular goals either side of a Benjamin Cremaschi strike in the second half to secure the three points.
