Martino: Messi minutes to be managed in busy run

Inter Miami CF head coach Gerardo Martino confirmed Lionel Messi will be available for the matches against Atlanta United on Wednesday and New York City FC on Saturday, but his level of participation remains to be determined.

Messi returned to action for the first time in two months on Saturday night against the Philadelphia Union, recuperating from a right ankle sprain suffered during the Copa América final on July 14.

He played all 105 minutes of the MLS match, and trained at full capacity on the days following the 3-1 victory at Chase Stadium.

“Leo is fine, he ended the game well. Tired, obviously,” said Martino. “It’s the first 90 minutes in a long time, but it ended very well. He is going to travel to both games. He is available but there are three games this week with travel included, so we have to see it day by day.”

The coach later clarified that the team will be careful not to take any risks when it comes to overexposing Messi and the rest of the squad, hinting at a possible rotation of players in the starting lineup.

Martino said he will decide after Tuesday morning’s training session whether Messi starts the match against Atlanta United or comes on as a substitute.

Messi has missed 10 MLS games, four Leagues Cup games and one Concacaf Champions Cup game so far this season for Inter Miami. But despite his absence, the team has managed to stay atop the Eastern Conference table and lead the Supporters’ Shield standings with 62 points in 28 games.

“Wherever he is, he will surely always be missed,” Martino said. “So, obviously, we are very happy to be able to have him back in the team. We didn’t replace him individually because individually they cannot be replaced, but we have tried to ensure that collectively the team acquires a physiognomy that makes it reliable and I think that within what we have done it seems to me that it turned out quite well.”

Martino confirmed Luis Suárez will also be available for selection in the upcoming matches. The team, however, will deal with several absences as David Martínez and Noah Allen are both out after suffering injuries during Saturday’s match against the Union.

Tomás Avilés and Sergio Busquets are also unavailable due to yellow card accumulation, and look to return on Saturday for the game against New York City FC.