Was Lionel Messi injured or rested? Inter Miami boss Tata Martino explains Argentine’s absence in frustrating MLS defeat to Montreal

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner had been listed as questionable ahead of the game, with the Argentine superstar said to be nursing a slight knock. Having seen his pre-season disrupted by fitness issues, no chances are being taken on the 36-year-old forward during a hectic start to the 2024 campaign.

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With that in mind, the decision was taken to rotate Messi out of a 3-2 loss to Montreal. Quizzed on that decision afterwards, Martino said: “We discussed this about a week ago. We agreed that this was the game he should rest, independent of what happened in the game against Nashville.”

Martino added, with Luis Suarez and Sergio Busquets also benched on the back of a 2-2 CONCACAF Champions Cup draw with Nashville: “(The media) asked 10 days ago if I planned to rotate; we rotated.”

On the game itself, which saw Inter Miami suffer their first defeat of the season, Martino said of the defensive frailties that led to his team coming unstuck: “I thought we deserved to win the game. What concerns me is that we are a team that doesn’t defend with intensity in the important moments, be they in transition or on set pieces. We did not have a good start. The first 10 to 15 minutes were poor, and the truth is our opponent got two easy goals. It was a game we could have won and had enough (talent) to win.”

Leonardo Campana and Jordi Alba scored the Herons’ goals, but their efforts were not enough to salvage something from the game. Inter Miami, who are competing on four fronts this season, will be back in action on Wednesday when taking in the second leg of their continental last-16 encounter with Nashville.