Luis Suarez and Tata Martino have spoken about the possibility of being without Lionel Messi as Inter Miami prepares to face CF Monterrey on Wednesday (tonight).
Messi faces a race against time to recover from a thigh problem ahead of Miami’s first leg quarter-final match in the Concacaf Champions League against Monterrey. Despite being such a crucial clash for the “Heron,” who will face Liga MX giants, coach Martino insists no “risk” will be taken, and he maintains that Messi’s role “has not yet been determined.”
Regarding the possibility of Messi playing, Martino told reporters on Tuesday evening: “Leo has an injury, and we need to manage his minutes. We have an important game tomorrow, but we have to think that April has just begun. For us, it has just started, and we cannot risk the conditions of our players. We will establish at the base what is best for Leon and every other player, and then we will make the right decisions.”
If Messi cannot feature from the start, the responsibility will be on his veteran teammate Suarez to ensure firepower up top. But the Uruguayan emphasized that Miami can be successful without Messi, adding: “[Messi is] a player who makes a difference, we know that. We will wait until tomorrow to see if he is there, but if he’s not, we’ll do what we did a day ago and won games without him. If he’s there, we’ll enjoy it more. We know it’s a long season, we have a lot of injuries, but we have a great team and really good players who can replace others. The game goes on, if the team sticks together and continues to move forward, that’s the focus.”
