Lionel Messi’s injury has shaken Inter Miami and its fans, forcing the Herons to navigate several important matches without their captain. As the club prepares to face the LA Galaxy in MLS play, head coach Javier Mascherano delivered a significant update on Messi’s potential return.
Since picking up the injury against Necaxa, Messi has missed nearly three games across the Leagues Cup and MLS. That stretch was capped by Sunday’s Florida derby, where Inter Miami suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat to Orlando City in a concerning performance at Exploria Stadium.
Spotted back in training this week, Messi’s availability became the main topic on Friday when Mascherano spoke to reporters. “Leo is doing well; in fact, since Wednesday he’s already been training with the team. Beyond the training session we still have today, we believe that if nothing unusual happens, he will be included in the squad for tomorrow’s match,” he told reporters.
The Galaxy’s 2025 MLS season has fallen far short of expectations. Sitting at the bottom of the Western Conference with just three wins, five draws, and 15 losses—the most in MLS along with D.C. United and CF Montréal—Los Galacticos have endured a rough campaign. However, they did reach the next phase of the Leagues Cup and face a quarterfinal clash with Pachuca on Thursday.
Mascherano cautioned his players not to be fooled by LA’s league form: “Regarding LA, for me it’s a team whose position in the MLS standings doesn’t reflect the quality they have—especially the quality of their players. Maybe they didn’t start the season well because of injuries and different circumstances, but in recent months they’ve improved a lot as important players have returned. They had a very good first phase in the Leagues Cup against high-level opponents.”
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With Saturday’s match against the Galaxy on deck, Inter Miami are also eyeing Wednesday’s pivotal Leagues Cup showdown with Tigres. The coaching staff hopes Messi will be fully fit for that match, meaning his minutes against LA could be managed carefully.
De Paul also returns to training
Another surprise for Miami came Thursday when Rodrigo De Paul was absent from training despite being one of the team’s most in-form players. It was later revealed that the midfielder had briefly left the country to complete visa paperwork.
Mascherano confirmed De Paul’s availability and added him to the list of options for the Galaxy game: “Rodrigo (De Paul) is joining us today because he needed to leave the country. You already know how visa issues go—it took a little longer than expected to process—but today he joins training and will be part of the squad.”
