Messi scores on return from injury for Inter Miami
Lionel Messi scored on his return from injury as Inter Miami were held to a 2-2 home draw with Colorado in their Major League Soccer (MLS) clash.
Former Brazilian footballer Rivaldo, who spent five seasons at Barcelona from 1997 to 2002, has warned the Catalan side against rushing Lionel Messi back from injury.
Notably, the Argentine star Messi has struggled for fitness this season and has been sidelined for the upcoming matches due to injury.
In his last game, which Barca won 2-1 against Villarreal, he elongated his left adductor and quit the match after the first half.
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“As the Argentinian returns from injury, the club need to be careful about not rushing him back,” Rivaldo wrote in his column for Betfair, adding, “He’s 32 years old and has been playing at the highest level for a while without any rest, so it’s normal to see him starting to feel some pain at times.”
“The club needs to let him fully recover so that he doesn’t suffer a recurrence of his injuries right after returning to the team. It doesn’t matter if he misses two, three weeks or a month. When I was in my early thirties, I thought I would never get injured, or feel pain, but it wasn’t the truth and those kinds of problems started to come,” he added.
“Being 32 is not the same as being 25, so you need to manage your fitness better. I don’t see this as a sign of decline in Messi, though, as he will come back and have a few more years at the highest level,” said the 47-year-old veteran.
Earlier, Messi also missed Barcelona’s first four La Liga matches of the ongoing season with a separate calf problem, although he made his return via a 30-minute substitute appearance in a goalless draw with Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.
Aside from his start against Villarreal, Messi’s only other minutes this season have come via two substitute appearances. However, recovery time for the 32-year-old is unknown yet.
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