Lionel Messi has been out of action since Argentina’s glorious Copa America 2024 final against Colombia, in July. The Argentine resumed training with Inter Miami recently and was expected to return to action soon.

But it looks like the Inter Miami star has faced an injury setback and was absent from his side’s training session on Wednesday, ahead of their match against Philadelphia Union this weekend.

Messi suffered an ankle ligament injury during the Copa America final, and had to depart the field in the second-half. According to Gaston Edul, he has not further aggravated his ankle injury, but is dealing with flu symptoms. He is expected to feature in Miami’s clash against Atlanta United, scheduled for September 19.

The former PSG star last appeared for Miami in June, where he scored in a 3-3 draw against St Louis City. In nine matches without him, Inter Miami have won eight of those games.

In August, Miami head coach Tata Martino gave an update on Messi’s return. Speaking to the media, he said, “He is developing well, it was foreseeable that he would not be with Argentina because he is not yet in a position to play, but we continue to see him develop. There is no estimate, because you are already starting to see how you feel as you add training on the field.”

“The work is planned by the medical part with the physical trainers. But yes, he returns before the end of the regular season.”

“I wouldn’t be able to give an approximate number of days that he returns to training but it is not a situation that is too far away. There is a part of the injuries that have to do with the physical and there is a part of the injuries that has to do with the mental, so we have to overcome them both ways and I think that he is going through that process.

“He is feeling better and better, he has been working in the field for three or four days now. We cannot give time because we do not know and it would be speculating about something that may not be possible to do, but it is close,” he added.