Inter Miami superstar Lionel Messi did not guarantee that he could play against Vissel Kobe (7/2/24). However, Messi said that his current situation is better than before.
Messi caused a stir in Hong Kong when he did not play in his team’s pre-season match against Hong Kong XI (4/2/24). His non-playing made fans and even the Hong Kong government furious.
Now, Miami travelled to Japan to face J1 League champions Vissel Kobe at the Japanese National Stadium and there are certainly many fans who hope Messi can play.
At the pre-match press conference, Messi did not guarantee he could play. However, he said his condition has improved.
“This afternoon we will train, I will try it again,” Messi said as reported by Footemxtra.com from The Athletic.
“Actually I feel very good compared to a few days ago and depending on how (training) goes, and if I’m honest, I still don’t know if I can (play) or not, but I feel much better and I really want to be able to do it.”
Lionel Messi’s schedule with Inter Miami
Inter Miami will still have two pre-season games before kicking off the 2024 MLS season against Real Salt Lake on 22 February.
After the match against Vissel Kobe, they will return to Florida and will play Messi’s childhood club, Newell’s Old Boys at the DRV PNK Stadium on Friday (16/2/24).
Inter Miami themselves have had a bad pre-season so far. They only won once out of 5 matches they played and lost three times, including being slaughtered by Al-Nassr 0-6.