The fitness of Inter Miami talisman Lionel Messi remains a mystery ahead of his US Open Cup
Houston Dynamo head coach Ben Olsen is preparing his players for the threat posed by Lionel Messi, despite the Inter Miami star’s injury woes ahead of the US Open Cup final.
The Argentine legend has helped to transform the Herons’ fortunes since his move stateside, notching 11 goals in his first 12 outings. However, his fitness has been the subject of debate of late, with the 37-year-old having missed three out of the last four MLS matches with a troublesome muscular injury.
As Vice City look to win their second piece of silverware of the season in the US Open Cup showpiece, the absence of Messi would represent a major blow. Understandably, however, Houston manager Olsen is unwilling to take the risk of assuming that the World Cup winner will not feature.
Speaking ahead of the final at Miami’s DRV PNK Stadium, the Texan outfit’s boss asserted: “We’re pretty sure he’ll play. ‘We’ll prepare for them in that way. They’ve got some options if that isn’t the case. But we’ll prepare for their best line-up unless we hear something more concrete.”
Messi’s fitness woes have now been ongoing since he was substituted in Argentina’s the 1-0 win over Ecuador during the international break. The veteran forward then missed his country’s clash with Bolivia before sitting out of Miami’s 5-2 loss against Atlanta United.
Supporters will have been hoping that the worst of his fitness issues were behind him as he lined up from the start versus Toronto. However, he would be withdrawn after just 37 minutes of play through fatigue, before going on to miss the Herons’ next two games.
Fellow key man Jordi Alba has also been nursing a knock of his own and the pair missed outdoors training on Tuesday ahead of the upcoming cup final. Messi was instead spotted speaking on his phone at Miami’s training base, while his teammates were put through their paces.
