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Monterrey coach Fernando Ortiz says Lionel Messi’s fitness will be a “determining factor” when his side face Inter Miami in midweek.
Messi has been out of action since he was forced off 50 minutes into the 3-1 Champions Cup win against Nashville on March 13. He was kept out of the Argentina team as a result and the Herons are eagerly awaiting his return.
The Champions Cup clash could see him back in the action, but Inter Miami coach Tata Martino says no decision has been made as of yet, saying at a press conference: “We will determine fundamentally what is the best for Leo and every other player, and then we’ll make the correct decisions.”
Ortiz knows there is more to Inter Miami than Messi, but feels the Argentine’s presence will be big, telling reporters: “It’s not just the players of names like [Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, Luis Suarez and Messi], the entire team worries me, not just one name in particular. Miami is a very interesting team, they reached the same round as us. Those players are ones that have shown interest on an international level, but all of Miami worries us.”
He added: “I don’t think we are the favorites. It’s going to be a close game that can be determined in the details. I think whether Messi plays or not will be a determining factor, but I trust my players.”
Monterrey defender Hector Moreno knows all too well how Messi can change a game immediately, as he experienced while playing against him in a 2-0 loss for Mexico at the Qatar World Cup in 2022. He said: “My most recent experience with Messi was the World Cup, and I gave him half a meter and he changed the score and our World Cup path. We have to be vigilant of those types of situations.”
Messi’s condition will be assessed before Martino decides whether or not he should play in the first leg of the Champions Cup quarter-final this week. Then, at the weekend, Inter Miami take on Colorado Rapids in MLS.
