Injured Messi misses another MLS match

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Oct 01 (AP): Here's how it goes for Inter Miami right now when it comes to the injured Lionel Messi: The team keeps saying he might play, and then he doesn't play.
That pattern held true again Saturday, when the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner was scratched from the lineup for a matchup against New York City FC - a game with significant Major League Soccer (MLS) playoff implications for both clubs. Messi has a leg injury, the severity of which has not been revealed by Inter Miami.
The team announced that Messi would not play about 45 minutes before Saturday's game time. Without Messi, Miami still had some magic - Tomás Avilés scored off a header in stoppage time to salvage what became a 1-1 tie. NYCFC had the lead on a goal by Santiago Rodriguez in the 77th minute.
The 36-year-old Messi has now missed four of Inter Miami's last five matches, plus another for Argentina in that span because of what was first called fatigue - by both his club and country - and has evolved from there. The only game he didn't miss during that stretch was a 37-minute appearance against Toronto on September 20, and he had to leave that match before halftime because of what is believed to be a hamstring issue.