Will Lionel Messi Play For Inter Miami Vs Toronto? Gerardo Martino Offers Crucial Update

Inter Miami boss Gerardo Martino on Tuesday did not confirm if Lionel Messi would feature in his side's upcoming game against Toronto FC.

Messi missed Inter Miami's Major League Soccer (MLS) match against Atlanta last weekend. Martino said Messi didn't play the Atlanta game because of "muscular fatigue".

At the pre-match conference on Tuesday, when Martino was asked about Messi and his teammate Jordi Alba's availability against the Canadian side, the head coach said no decision has been taken as yet.

"Messi and [Jordi] 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. 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," Martino told reporters.

Martino went on to praise his boys, saying every player on Inter Miami's roster wants to play all games. "That is the mentality of our group. 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," added Martino.

After being winless for nine matches, Inter Miami built an 11-match unbeaten streak since Messi's arrival. However, the 11-match unbeaten run was broken as a Messi-less Inter Miami suffered a 5-2 defeat against Atlanta. It was only the second time Messi didn't take to the field for Inter Miami since joining them in July. Messi had earlier missed a 3-2 victory over Sporting KC due to international duty as well as Argentina's World Cup qualifier fixture against Bolivia due to a muscle injury.

Messi trained twice last week after missing the World Cup qualifying match but did not make the trip to Atlanta upon his return from international duty.

Inter Miami have already lifted a trophy this season, courtesy of their Leagues Cup title last month. That victory saw Inter Miami secure qualification for next year's Concacaf Champions Cup as well as a bye in the opening round.

But before turning their focus to a second trophy of the season, Inter Miami will be aiming to continue their quest for a spot in the MLS Cup playoffs with the upcoming game against Toronto FC and an away match against Orlando City SC on Sunday evening.

Earlier this season, when Inter Miami took on Toronto, the former lost the game 2-0. But that was well before they signed Barcelona legends Messi, Sergio Busquets, and Alba, along with the three key young signings of Facundo Farías, Diego Gómez and Tomás Avilés.