Explained: Why Lionel Messi Has Not Featured In A Game In The Last 10 Days | Football News
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With the win against Cavalier, Miami continued their unbeaten run this season, coming off a massive 4-1 victory over Sporting KC on aggregate in the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Explained: Why Lionel Messi Has Not Featured In A Game In The Last 10 Days (Picture credit: AP)
Star Argentine footballer Lionel Messi sat out of Inter Miami’s 2-0 victory over Cavalier on Friday, as questions arose over his fitness, with the World Cup-winner now missing out on two games in a row for the Major League Soccer club.
With the win against Cavalier, Miami continued their unbeaten run this season, coming off a massive 4-1 victory over Sporting KC on aggregate in the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
But the match against Cavalier was the second successive game that Messi missed after not travelling with Miami to face Houston Dynamo in their MLSG game earlier this week.
🚨 Lionel Messi will not be available tonight. He will continue following the club’s plan to prevent a longer absence due to muscle overload. @Jarm21 🇦🇷⚠️ pic.twitter.com/l0srGNx6sI— All About Argentina 🛎🇦🇷 (@AlbicelesteTalk) March 6, 2025
“I am guided by what the doctors tell me, and the doctors have told me that he has no injuries or scars. He is tired from having played three games in six days, from the changes in the weather, from a lot of situations, and since we want to take care of him and we intend not to aggravate that fatigue, we decided to rest him,” Miami coach Javier Mascherano said after winning against Cavalier.
Messi is expected to be in action during the international break for Argentina as they face Uruguay on Saturday, March 22 and arch-rivals Brazil in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Messi has already featured in five pre-season friendly games for Miami, as well as its Major League Soccer season opener against New York City FC.
Messi scored twice across both legs of the Champions Cup first-round victory over Sporting KC.
In Messi’s absence, Sergio Busquets led Miami against Cavalier. But without the former, there was no structure in the team’s attack, and their midfield struggled to retain possession while progressing into the final third, rather than getting back with the ball into their own half.
After Messi missed out, the Dynamo were the latest side to give fans complimentary tickets after it was reported that he was not travelling for their match.