Inter Miami CF star Lionel Messi is expected to return as a starter or from the bench Wednesday against Toronto FC, sources told ESPN Argentina.
Messi, who missed Inter Miami's 5-2 loss at Atlanta on Saturday due to what coach Gerardo «Tata» Martino called «muscular fatigue,» was a full participant in Tuesday's practice.
In a statement distributed to media before Miami's training, Martino would not say whether Messi and Jordi Alba, who also missed Saturday's defeat, would feature against the Canadian side, but sources said the World Cup winner will be available. — Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.) «Messi and Alba will train in the full session today with the team, and after that we'll see if they're available to play and to what extent,» Martino said. «Beginning on Wednesday, we have six matches in 18 days, which is one match every three days, including the Lamar Hunt U.S.
Open Cup final. »We have a lot of important matches in a short window of time, and one of my responsibilities as the coach is to care for my players and help them make the hard decisions that will give us the best chance of keeping everyone healthy during this busy run." Messi trained twice last week after missing the World Cup qualifying match for Argentina against Bolivia but did not make the trip to Atlanta upon his return from international duty. «From what I can see he looks good, he looks happy and ready to go,» Miami defender DeAndre Yedlin said after Tuesday's training when questioned about Messi's fitness.