Inter Miami team news: Why isn't Lionel Messi playing against Toronto FC?

InterMiami won the Supporters' Shield with a dramatic 3-2 win at reigning MLS Cup holders Columbus Crew on Wednesday. But even though this victory secured the first title of 2024, there is still much to be won in Miami.

The herons can break that MLS single season points record if they win their remaining two regular season games. However, after Wednesday's win, Lionel Messi stressed that the final points tally was not a major problem for the team, saying “records are secondary”.

Messi recently returned from a lengthy injury layoff and has a busy schedule ahead of him with the international break in October and the start of the MLS Cup playoffs later this month. Some have wondered about Messi's fitness, but the Heros coach insisted the Argentine is in good shape.

“For him and the rest of the players who played, the last two games against Charlotte and Columbus were very tough, so we have to take into account the accumulation of minutes,” Martino told reporters on Friday.

“We understand that it was good for Leo to get minutes to get back into the rhythm. We will evaluate him and decide in the next few hours who will play.”

Why doesn't Lionel Messi play for Inter Miami?

Lionel Messi looks set to start for Herons as he continues his recovery to full match fitness. The 37-year-old has missed a large portion of the season but is still in the running for the MLS Most Valuable Player award, having scored 17 goals and 15 assists in just 17 appearances.

However, he drops to the bench at BMO Field as Tata Martino changes his squad. Next to Messi lying on the bench Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Drake Callender.

The Herons currently have 68 points from 32 games with just two regular season games remaining. The MLS single-season record is The New England Revolution recorded 73 points in 2021. If Inter Miami wins their last two games, they will once again prove their reputation as one of the best teams we have ever seen in MLS.