Lionel Messi rejoined Inter Miami’s training group on Wednesday, 10 days after Argentina lost the World Cup final to Spain.
The 39-year-old was pictured at the club’s Fort Lauderdale base next to Luis Suárez, holding the mate flask he takes almost everywhere.
His return closes a two-week absence that began with the 1-0 defeat at MetLife Stadium on July 19, where Ferran Torres scored in the 106th minute of extra time to give Spain a second World Cup title, after 2010.
Messi spent the days after the final in his hometown of Rosario. His only public reaction came on social media in the days after.
“The pain is immense, and it will take time for this wound to heal.”
Hoyos will not rush him back
Head coach Guillermo Hoyos, an Argentine and longtime friend of Messi, has the captain available for the run-in but is not expected to rush him into a starting shirt. Inter Miami host Columbus Crew on Saturday, August 1, and open their Leagues Cup campaign against Mexican side Atlético San Luis on August 5 at Nu Stadium.
The Leagues Cup opener is treated internally as the more realistic return date. Rodrigo De Paul, Messi’s Argentina midfielder, has not yet rejoined the squad.
Only Mbappé produced more
The scale of what Messi carried through the World Cup is in the numbers. He finished with eight goals and four assists, the most goal contributions by an Argentine at a single World Cup since 1966, surpassing Diego Maradona’s 10 from the 1986 tournament. Only Kylian Mbappé, with 14, ended the tournament with more.
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None of it was enough in the final. Argentina managed two shots and none on target across 120 minutes against Spain, who set World Cup final records for passes and shots on their way to the trophy.
Messi has not said whether he will play international football again. The next competitive date at Nu Stadium is August 5 against San Luis, and Hoyos has that as the first real chance to see him in club colours again.
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