Inter Miami held its final training session ahead of Saturday’s clash with Columbus Crew — a match that will serve as the last stop before a brief break and the start of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. Head coach Javier Mascherano spoke about the team’s injury list and gave insight into Lionel Messi’s impact.
Injury updates: who missed Friday’s training?
Several players sat out the final practice due to lingering issues from the previous match. Jordi Alba, Yannick Bright, Gonzalo Luján, Baltasar Rodríguez, Santiago Morales, and Tomás Avilés were all absent. Meanwhile, David Ruiz, who had trained with the group on Thursday, worked separately on Friday as a precaution.
“Jordi and Gonzalo have muscular problems. Toto (Avilés) has an ankle issue. Yannick’s is also muscular. David trained with the group yesterday and did very well. Today we’re just lowering his workload a bit,” Mascherano explained.
He added: “We hope to get a few players back. I’m not a doctor, but we’re short on numbers. Hopefully those heading to national team duty return healthy too.”
“For us Argentinians, it’s been incredible,” Mascherano said when asked about Messi. “From my perspective, first as a longtime teammate and now as a fan of the national team, what I’ve seen is not just growth in his game but also in his role as a leader — something that became even more evident in recent years.”

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Inter Miami’s projected lineup vs. Columbus Crew
With several key players unavailable, Mascherano will need to reshuffle his squad. The most notable absence is left back Jordi Alba, who doesn’t have a natural replacement on the roster. Young defender Noah Allen is expected to step into that role. At center back, David Martínez may partner Maxi Falcón, though the situation remains fluid.
On the right flank, Ian Fray appears to be the frontrunner, though Marcelo Weigandt could also be considered. In midfield and attack, things are more settled. Benjamin Cremaschi is in contention but appears to be just behind in the pecking order for now.
Tentative starting XI: Óscar Ustari; Ian Fray, Maxi Falcón, David Martínez, Noah Allen; Tadeo Allende, Federico Redondo, Sergio Busquets, Telasco Segovia; Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez.