What injury does Messi have? Will he be fit to play against Monterrey in the CONCACAF Champions Cup?

The Argentine is currently sidelined, with his presence against Monterrey not confirmed.

We all know Messi is injured, we all know that Inter Miami’s record without him is as ropey as a pirate ship and we all know that their season has turned into a pressure cooker earlier than we could have imagined.

But what exactly is wrong with Messi and why is his injury record so poor? Will he be back to play against Monterrey (Wednesday 3 April 2024 at 8pm ET/5pm PT.) in a game that looks more and more difficult by the day? Here’s an attempt an answering those questions.

It was back before the game against Montreal when news of Messi’s fitness first reached public ears this season. The 2023 MLS season for Inter Miami went from sunshine to lightning storms almost overnight as their prospects of playoff football crumbled in front of them with the World Cup winner on the bench.

This season, with a ‘Messi plan’ in practice to reduce and caress his minutes, this was not supposed to happen. An “overload in his right hamstring” was the diagnosis according to Tata Martino and since then, we’ve seen Miami wading through mud as they look to replace his magic.

However, a Messi-less Miami fell to a sorry home loss against CF Montreal, The Herons’ first defeat of the season. Days later, with the Argentine back in the setup, Messi and Suárez were on fire as Miami cruised to the quarter-finals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup.

The good news ends there. New York, New York so good they named it twice but have you ever had to play against them two times in a row? Ask Tata Martino what he thinks. First up it was the Red Bulls, who whipped them and put four past Callender before City got a draw after stifling their front line. Miami have looked stodgy in