According to Per Garcia, Lionel Messi has been recovering from muscle fatigue in his left hamstring and may be able to play limited minutes against Iceland. The 38-year-old Argentina captain sat on the bench during Saturday’s 2–0 friendly win over Honduras. He has been out since May 25, when he sustained the muscle issue during his final match with Inter Miami prior to joining the national squad.
I’ll admit, I had grown pessimistic about the idea that Messi would be kept out of the friendly to prevent aggravating his injury before the World Cup group stage. It was easy to assume the worst when Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni gave a cautious update on Friday one day before Messi sat out the friendly against Honduras at Texas A&M’s Kyle Field in College Station.
“Leo is doing well,” Scaloni said on Friday. “He trained part of the session with the group, which is a good sign. He’s not completely sidelined; he’s making progress. He might feature in the friendlies and get some minutes in these two matches. We’ll see if it’s tomorrow or the next one. But he’s much better, and that gives us peace of mind.”
It felt like a tactic to sell tickets while keeping Messi’s status vague a sort of bait-and-switch move. If Messi wasn’t going to play, that decision likely would have been made before match day. They should have announced it so fans buying tickets wouldn’t feel tricked into attending a game they might have skipped had they known Messi wouldn’t be there.
But if Messi does play tomorrow night which seems more probable following Garcia’s report then several things become clear.
Lionel Messi is about to give Auburn an unforgettable moment that Texas A&M didn’t get. Messi plays for Inter Miami, so it’s not like Americans never get to see the legendary forward. Still, he’s playing for Argentina during a World Cup year, and that’s a major point of pride for Tigers fans to host him.
It’s a flex the 12th Man can’t claim, after Messi sat on the bench watching his team handle Honduras on Saturday. Texas A&M did get a jersey exchange between Messi and Marcel Reed, but the Aggies can only say Messi warmed up on their field. Auburn fans, on the other hand, look likely to say Messi’s cleat marks will be on Pat Dye Field. Imagine if he scores.
Having Messi do his warm-up in Lee County, Alabama, is an incredible achievement for Auburn. It’s exactly the kind of boost the city and its fanbase needed.
So here’s to the moment Tiger fans and everyone traveling to Auburn for the game are about to share with Messi on Tuesday night.
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