MIAMI.- Inter Miami star, Lionel Messiwill not participate in the All-Star Game MLS while recovering from an ankle injury.
Messi, 37, left Argentina’s Copa America win over Colombia on July 14 with a right ankle injury. Teammate Luis Suarez will also miss Wednesday in Columbus, Ohio, with what the team described as “knee discomfort.”
Both are listed among the league’s unavailable players on Monday.
Eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi has missed Miami’s wins over Toronto FC and Chicago Fire. The team said the status of both players for Saturday’s Leagues Cup opener against Puebla “will be updated based on their daily recovery process.”
The MLS All-Star Game features the circuit’s top players against figures from Mexico’s Liga MX.
Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, members of the Miami team, will play on Wednesday night.
Real Salt Lake forward Cristian Arango will also miss the All-Star Game while serving a four-game suspension from Major League Soccer for violating the league’s anti-harassment policy. Arango leads MLS with 17 goals and 11 assists.
Golden day for Soto
Dominican Juan Soto hit two of the Yankees’ five home runs and New York salvaged a split of the four-game series with a 9-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday.
Soto had his fourth multihomer game this season since arriving in a December trade and the 21st of his career. He hit a solo shot to the third deck in right field in the seventh and added a three-run shot in the eighth for his 25th on the season.
Soto went 11-for-18 in the series, including a four-hit game Friday.
Source: AP