Gerardo Tata Martino spoke about Lionel Messi’s injury and possibly playing against Houston Dynamo in the U.S Open Cup final.
All eyes and ears have been on Lionel Messi and his fitness levels ahead of Inter Miami’s U.S Open Cup final on Wednesday. Messi was substituted out last week against Toronto FC and Martino was asked about Messi’s fitness on Tuesday.
Martino spoke at a press conference on Tuesday morning and here is what he had to say about Lionel Messi:
“We imagine that he doesn’t want to miss the very important final. In this case, yes I will sit down with him to see what his feelings are… Here there are three questions: first the player, then the final, and then what comes next.
“We will wait until tomorrow. Jordi Alba, it’s difficult, but with Leo we will wait until the last moment to see the resolution we take.”
The Inter Miami coach went on to speak about how it could play a role in ticket sales:
“I have to give info that could change the opponent’s game plan. Why should I give that info if I can keep it to myself? I know that goes against people’s interests as to buy tickets or not, but we have to prioritize things as they are, and what we want is to win the game.
“He doesn’t need surgery or anything like that. It’s just a matter of how much time the player needs to rest in order to play the next game. If it wasn’t a final, we wouldn’t take any risks. But because it’s a final, there is a chance we take that risk.”
