Inter Miami head coach Javier Mascherano said he chose to rest Lionel Messi against the Houston Dynamo on Sunday in an effort to prevent an injury to the Argentina star after he featured in three matches in seven days.
The revelation that Messi would not travel to Texas for the Major League Soccer match led Houston to give away free tickets to a subsequent match for fans that attended the clash with Miami. Mashcerano confirmed Wednesday that Messi did not have an injury but he chose to rest the 37-year-old after a busy start to the season in MLS and the Concacaf Champions Cup.
"Leo hasn't had any injuries," Mascherano said at a media availability.
"Obviously, with the matches, he has felt the fatigue, he has had an overload, but that's why we decided he not go to Houston. That's why, we have already had some injuries and we don't want to fall back on a player so important to us, because what if we don't give him a certain rest, he ends up injured and we don't want to be out for a month."
Inter Miami now prepares to face Jamaican side Cavalier FC in the first leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup round of 16 at Chase Stadium on Thursday. It remains unclear whether Messi will feature, despite having trained normally alongside his teammates.
"The chances [that Leo plays] are the same as the rest of the players. We'll see. We'll see what decision we make tomorrow. As of today, I haven't confirmed 100% of the team," said Mascherano.
"Leo is training. He trained yesterday, he trained today. We'll see, he's in good health, but we'll see what's good for us."
The coach went on to reveal that goalkeeper Drake Callender and defender Marcelo Weigandt remain unavailable for selection due to injuries.
Winger Robert Taylor failed to train with the team ahead of Thursday's game after suffering from a fever last week, but Mascherano did not clarify his availability for the Champions Cup game.
