Inter Miami CF star Lionel Messi didn't travel with the team for Saturday's road game against Atlanta United FC, a source told ESPN Argentina.
Messi uncharacteristically left Argentina's World Cup qualifying win last week over Ecuador before the final whistle, and although he made Wednesday's trip to Bolívia, he was not named in coach Lionel Scaloni's 23-man squad for the 3-0 victory at La Paz's high altitude. — Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.) Miami coach Gerardo Martino said early Friday that Messi is «fine» but he wanted to wait until after the last training before the game to make a decision about the star's availability against Atlanta. «We will be careful with him because we have a lot of important games in a short span,» Martino said.
Miami's schedule was packed before the international break, and it has a quick turnaround before Wednesday's home match with Toronto FC.
Messi will also have more World Cup qualifiers to navigate in October, with CONMEBOL qualifiers against Paraguay (Oct. 12) and Peru (Oct.