Lionel Messi has been left out of Inter Miami CF’s squad for the fourth consecutive game as the team faces Chicago Fire FC at Soldier Field on Wednesday night.
The Argentina World Cup winner came back from international duty in September with the recurrence of a leg injury and only played once since — starting but then coming off in the first half of a 4-0 win over Toronto FC.
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He did not make the trip to Chicago with the team and has now missed five of Miami’s last six matches and was seen training independently from the rest of the team earlier in the week.
Messi has been described as game to game my Miami manager Gerardo Martino in recent weeks, including in the buildup to today’s crunch match with the Fire as both teams try to stay in the MLS postseason mix.
Miami is four points out of the final playoff spot with 34 points, three behind the Fire on 37, but Martino’s side has games in hand on all of the teams in front of them for the remainder of the 34-game MLS season.
