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As the League Cup kicks off, Messi is out for the reigning champion Miami
As he works with club trainers, Messi is still wearing a walking boot, but the Miami coach claimed that Messi’s ankle is getting better and better.
Miami coach Gerardo Martino announced on Friday that Lionel Messi will not play for Inter Miami when the defending Leagues Cup champions kick off their rematch against Puebla at home on Saturday.
The 37-year-old Argentine striker was injured in his right ankle during his country’s Copa America final victory against Colombia this month.
Messi was absent from two MLS games last week as well as the MLS All-Star Game on Wednesday against the Liga MX All-Stars of Mexico.
As he works with club trainers, Messi is still wearing a walking boot, but the Miami coach claimed that Messi’s ankle is getting better and better.
Last year, Messi arrived at Inter Miami and led the club on a title run in the inaugural edition of the Leagues Cup, which features MLS and Mexican clubs in a World Cup-style format.
There are 15 three-team groups in the first round and two from each will advance to the knockout stages along with the reigning league champions, Club America and the MLS Columbus Crew.
This year’s opening matches were played Friday with host Orlando routing Montreal 4-1, DC United winning 6-5 on penalties after a 3-3 draw at Atlanta and 10-man host Austin edging Mexico’s Pumas 3-2.
Icelandic midfielder Dagur Thorhallsson, Uruguay’s Facundo Torres and Argentine striker Ramiro Enrique gave Orlando a 3-0 half-time lead and Argentina’s Martin Ojeda added another goal in the 57th minute while Montreal’s Josef Martinez, a Venezuelan midfielder, averted a shutout loss in the 69th.
Austin goalkeeper Stefan Cleveland denied a penalty shot by Pumas striker Guillermo Martinez in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time as the Texas club hung on after Osman Bukari’s red card in the 34th minute with Austin up 1-0 on Alexander Ring’s eighth-minute goal.
Gyasi Zardes and Sebastian Driussi added goals for Austin while Martinez and Ali Avila scored for Pumas to set up the thrilling finish.
DC United’s scheduled home match against Santos Laguna next Wednesday at Audi Field was moved to the home stadium of the Philadelphia Union — Subaru Park in Chester, Pennsylvania — due to concerns over field conditions in Washington.
Leagues Cup organizers fined DC United an undisclosed sum over conditions, with the club saying it is installing a new grass field at the stadium on July 31, a move that had been previously planned for August 1.
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© Agence France-Presse
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