Will Lionel Messi play against Cincinnati?

Lionel Messi was recently called up for the Argentina national team

Lionel Messi could make his return from injury in Inter Miami's clash against Cincinnati in the Major League Soccer (MLS).

Inter Miami fans are eager to see their Argentine superstar on the pitch.

The 36-year-old Argentine forward has missed five of Inter Miami’s last six matches, and another for Argentina in that span because of what was first called fatigue and later was determined to be a hamstring injury. He has not played since making a 37-minute appearance against Toronto on 20 September, when the leg issue forced him out before halftime.

Messi missed out on Wednesday night as Inter Miami fell 4-1 to the Chicago Fire in a hugely damaging result to its playoff chances. Saturday’s home game against FC Cincinnati is now essentially a must-win, with Miami currently five points back of a playoff berth with just three games left.

After the Chicago game, Martino said that Messi was improving and could potentially be ready to play at DRV PNK Stadium on Saturday.

“Leo is closer to being able to play again,” Martino said at a press conference. “We’ll evaluate him tomorrow and Friday to see if he’s able to play.

After Messi trained on Friday, Miami assistant coach Javier Morales told reporters: “Surely after training we will make a decision, but every day it gets better.”

On X (formerly Twitter), Inter Miami seemed to indicate the Argentina superstar was ready to go by posting his picture along with the caption in Spanish: “Nos vemos mañana” (we’ll see you tomorrow).

Lionel Messi was recently called up for the upcoming international matches by Argentina. They will face Paraguay at home on October 12 before travelling to Peru for a match on October 17.