Is Lionel Messi ready to return from injury? Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni suggests he is prepared to risk Inter Miami superstar in World Cup qualifiers

Messi has been struggling with a muscle injury, having missed four Inter Miami matches in a row. However, he returned to MLS action on October 8, coming off the bench 10 minutes into the second half in the match against Cincinnati before joining up with his Argentina team-mates.

Messi has had a fine start since joining Inter Miami in a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain in July. He has scored 11 goals in 13 appearances for the Florida club, but has only found the net once in his five MLS appearances.

He remains in staggering form for Argentina, too, having failed to score in just one of his last 15 matches for his country, firing in 23 goals in that time.

Scaloni hopes to have the World Cup winning captain available for 2026 World Cup qualifying matches against Paraguay and Peru.

"We still have training, it is important for Leo," Scaloni told reporters. "We saw him [looking] well, we will talk before practice to see if he plays from the beginning or not."

Messi could be in action when Argentina host Paraguay on October 13. The world champions have won both of their matches in the campaign so far and sit second to Brazil on goal difference.