Could Lionel Messi miss Inter Miami's MLS season opener? Javier Mascherano admits some stars will be unavailable for New York City FC clash after 'unprecedented' turnaround from freezing Kansas trip

Miami were in action in freezing temperatures in the first leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup against Sporting Kansas City in midweek, a game that took plenty out of their key players. Mascherano could not confirm that Lionel Messi and other stars would recover in time for the league opener with New York City FC.

If anyone ever really questioned whether Messi could do it on a freezing Wednesday night, the midweek trip to Kansas surely answered their question. The Argentina legend scored a superb goal to inspire his side to a 1-0 victory in alien conditions, with former Barcelona team-mates Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez also playing from the start.

Mascherano said: "We are prepared and above all recovering from the match on Wednesday. Everyone is not available for tomorrow. I'm not going to tell you who, I'm not going to give you clues. The majority of players are available. We're not even 48 hours away from the game we played in Kansas. Everyone saw the conditions we played in. That also requires us to wait a little longer for the players to recover. It's been an unprecedented situation for everyone."

Messi has one year left on his Inter Miami contract, with the club desperate to win as much silverware as possible during his stay. The coveted MLS Cup would perhaps be top of that list, but it still seems possible he will sit out of the league opener on Saturday.