Lionel Messi was substituted off with an injury in the first half of Inter Miami’s 4-0 victory against Toronto FC in MLS action on Wednesday.

Messi, who is 36 years old, was replaced after 37 minutes by Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino, which caused confusion at the time. However, the situation has become clearer since then.

The Argentine superstar had already missed Miami’s defeat at Atlanta last weekend, and this absence followed his absence from Argentina’s 3-0 win against Bolivia during the recent international break, where he was sidelined due to an unspecified injury.

Latest Update on Lionel Messi’s Injury

Martino has now confirmed that both Messi and Jordi Alba (Miami’s star left back, who was also substituted in the first half of the match against Toronto) will not play against Orlando City on Sunday.

“We have to go day by day, see the medical report, see what they themselves tell us,” Martino explained. “We’ll monitor them and we’ll think about it. Obviously, there’s no chance they’ll play on Sunday.”

“In principle, it’s a scar from an old injury that’s bothering him,” Martino continued when asked about Messi’s situation. “The image he brought with him from Argentina showed no muscular injury. We also preserved him against Atlanta because of that scar.

“… I think it’s exactly the same thing, it’s not a muscular injury. But I’m saying that more than anything because of a conversation I had with him. … Maybe we need to be more cautious than what I’m saying.”

Martino added: “I know we have a final, but in no way will they step on the field if they’re not in conditions to do so.”

Will Messi Make the Open Cup Final?

Therefore, two of Miami’s stars will be unavailable for the game against Orlando City on Sunday, and now the focus shifts to whether Messi and Alba will be fit for the U.S. Open Cup final against Houston Dynamo next Wednesday, which will be played at home (live on Peacock and Telemundo en Espanol at 8:30pm ET).

All of Miami’s fans, and almost everyone except Houston Dynamo supporters, will be hoping for Messi’s recovery so that he can participate in the Open Cup final on home turf.

It appears that Miami is handling Messi’s situation delicately, as they would love to have him fully available for this important cup final.

Miami is currently just a few points away from securing a playoff spot in MLS and is considered the strong favorite to win a second trophy in only two months since Messi joined Major League Soccer.

However, they must ensure they handle Messi’s minor issue sensibly. Credit should be given to Martino for confronting the problem directly, as many others would likely succumb to the pressure of continuously playing Messi.