Lionel Messi to Miss Another Game for Inter Miami

Lionel Messi returned to Inter Miami's lineup on Wednesday night. It was a short-lived comeback, and now he's sidelined again.
Messi was subbed off in the 37th minute of Inter Miami's match against Toronto, after spending a few minutes laboring with what appeared to be a leg issue. Miami came up big without him, winning 4-0 to move within five points of the final playoff spot in Major League Soccer's Eastern Conference.
Robert Taylor, who came on for Messi, had two goals and an assist. But Messi's status overshadowed everything, and Inter Miami coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino said after the game that the Argentine star will miss Sunday's game at Orlando.
“He had an old injury that had been bothering him,” Martino said, as relayed through a team official who translated his remarks from Spanish to English.
In an earlier answer that was not translated, Martino said Messi would miss at least one more match. The 36-year-old Messi had missed two matches — one for club, the other for country — in recent days, after sitting out Argentina’s World Cup qualifying win at Bolivia on Sept. 12, and Inter Miami’s 5-2 loss at Atlanta United this past Saturday.
Fatigue was cited in both cases, and the team did not provide any diagnosis of what is troubling the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner now. The game was scoreless when Messi was subbed out.
It was the second big injury blow for Inter Miami on Wednesday. Jordi Alba — another celebrated midseason addition — had to leave in the 34th minute, shortly before Messi's night was over. Alba will not play Sunday, either.
“We had to step up,” The Associated Press quoted Taylor as saying.
Facundo Farias and second-half sub Benjamin Cremaschi had the other goals.
“It shows the depth that we have on our team,” goalie Drake Callender said.
Messi had a couple of chances Wednesday, and appeared to stop running somewhat abruptly after carrying the ball deep into the Toronto box in the 33rd minute. He was barely engaged after that, leaning forward at one point as if to stretch the back of his legs, then eventually took off his captain's armband — actually trying a long pass while holding the armband — before waiting for play to stop so he could depart.
Messi didn’t even wait to come off the field before unlacing his cleats, lowering his socks and removing his shin guards. He placed the captain's band onto the arm of DeAndre Yedlin — who was Inter Miami's captain before Messi began his stint with the team in July — and now it's anyone's guess when Messi will wear it again. The team would likely want him to play in the US Open Cup final on Sept. 27.
Martino, per the team's translation, said Messi was removed from Wednesday's game “to be safe.”
“We don’t think it’s a muscular injury. That’s also from a conversation that I just had with him,” Martino said via the translation, even though Messi was stretching in a manner that suggested otherwise before leaving the field. “But we have to continue being careful and we’ll look at him the next few days.”
Wednesday’s match was the first of what will be six for Inter Miami in a span of 17 days. The team plays at Orlando on Sunday, then will host Houston in the US Open Cup final on Sept. 27. That will be followed by three more MLS matches in short order: against New York City FC on Sept. 30, at Chicago on Oct. 4 and playing host to Cincinnati on Oct. 7.
The daunting stretch will be even tougher if Messi isn't around. Miami entered Wednesday seven points behind D.C. United for the final playoff spot in the East, with two matches in hand. D.C. United picked up a point by tying Atlanta on Wednesday, so Inter Miami's three points for its win cut the deficit to five.
Despite its place in the standings, Inter Miami now controls its postseason destiny. Win out in MLS matches, and a team that was at the bottom of the conference before Messi arrived will be in the playoffs.
The Atlanta game halted what had been a 12-match unbeaten streak for Inter Miami since Messi debuted for the team against Mexican side Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup on July 21. Inter Miami had gone 8-0-4 in those 12 matches, with three of those games that ended as ties being outcomes for the team to celebrate after advancing on penalty kicks — two in the Leagues Cup, including the final against Nashville for the Miami club’s first-ever trophy, and another in the US Open Cup semifinals.
Messi has now appeared in 12 matches over two months for Miami, most of them in Leagues Cup and US Open Cup competition. He ha 11 goals and eight assists, and one goal and two assists in four MLS matches.

Georgian Vakhtang Salia may only be 17-years-old but he will soon be trading Dinamo Tbilisi's training ground for Newcastle United's famous St James' Park stadium.

The striker, known as Vakho, was with his friends when he heard he would be moving to Premier League Newcastle. He will relocate to England near his 18th birthday in August.

For the young prospect, who started playing aged four and debuted for Dinamo Tbilisi in Georgia's top flight only a year ago, signing for a Premier League club is a dream come true.

"I couldn't believe it. But I can't believe it right up until now. It's my dream to play there," he said.

Salia is part of a rising generation of young Georgian players who have given the South Caucasus country of 3.7 million, which gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, a spot on the world football map.

Salia told Reuters that among the players he most admires are Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Georges Mikautadze, who shone during the Euro 2024 campaign, Georgia's first major tournament. They lost to eventual champions Spain in the last 16.

The Euros saw Georgia, the lowest-ranked team in the tournament, win 2-0 against a Portugal side captained by Cristiano Ronaldo, another of Salia's soccer idols, in the group stage with goals from Kvaratskhelia and Mikautadze.

Salia also hopes to play for Georgia one day.

"Football in Georgia now is getting bigger," he said. "It's every Georgian's dream for Georgia to play in the World Cup and the Euros. And I hope that I'll play one day in the national team, too."

Dinamo Tbilisi head coach Vladimer Kakashvili said that Salia has every chance of becoming as good a player as his more established countrymen, even if the Premier League is a step up.

"Undoubtedly, today English football is among the best in Europe, where there are very high speeds, very high physical standards, and Vakho will need a certain period to get used to that," he said.

Salia's career at Dinamo Tbilisi so far leaves him well placed to shine in England, added Kakashvili.

"When a footballer joins the main team at such a young age, it shows that he's undoubtedly talented, that he undoubtedly works on himself, and that he is a professional of the highest level," he said.

"I think with his talent, strong work ethic, and dedication, he can play in any competition. It won't be a problem."

Lionel Messi to Miss Another Game for Inter Miami