MLS injury report clears Messi to face Philadelphia Union, but can we trust it? | OneFootball

Lionel Messi has been omitted from the Matchday 6 MLS Player Status report, which perhaps reinforces Inter Miami manager Javier Mascherano's assertion that the Argentine superstar will be available for Saturday's match against the Philadelphia Union.

Messi has already missed two matches in MLS without appearing on the league's official reports on Matchdays 2 and 3. At the time, Mascherano and company reasoned that the 37-year-old who has won a record eight Ballon d'Or awards wasn't dealing with a specific injury per se, but rather muscle fatigue.

This time, however, the club was clear that Messi had sustained a minor adductor issue that would keep him out of international duty for Argentina during the March international window. (Argentina went on to win both its games anyway and become the first CONMEBOL side to officially qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup).

So it's odd to see him completely omitted when it feels much safer to list him as questionable, just for the sake of covering your bases.

Concacaf concerns

Additionally, there's a rational case to make for not starting Messi on Saturday even if he is 100%, despite the relatively high stakes of the match for being only six weeks into the regular season.

Athough Saturday's clash could decide the new leader of the Eastern Conference lead, Miami will then fly out west for the first leg of their Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinal against LAFC on Wednesday night. No one would fault Mascherano for using Messi for 30-45 minutes against the Union with an eye toward having him fresh for Concacaf duty.

Elsewhere in Miami's squad, defender Marcelo Weigandt has been upgraded to questionable with a hamstring issue that has kept him out since exiting at halftime of Miami's 2-2 draw against New York City FC in both teams' league opener. But the Herons will be missing Tadeo Allende (calf), David Martinez (adductor), David Ruiz (hamstring) and Ryan Sailor (concussion protocol).