Lionel Messi was accompanied by his wife Antonela Roccuzzo and bodyguard as they watched Inter Miami qualify for the Round-of-16 stage of the Leagues Cup on Thursday, August 8. The Round-of-32 tie saw the Herons get past Toronto 4-3 in what was a topsy-turvy clash.

The Argentine himself was absent as he continues to recover from an ankle problem, which he picked up during the Copa America final against Colombia. Since winning that match on July 14, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner has been sidelined from competing for his club.

However, he was amongst the crowd, showing his support for the MLS side and a video has seemingly captured his presence.

During the tie, it was the Florida-based side who opened the scoring through Matias Rojas in the third minute. They quickly doubled their lead after Diego Gomez found the net just eight minutes later. Toronto found a way back, as they halved the deficit through Lorenzo Insigne’s 15th-minute spot kick.

Although Luis Suarez restored his team’s two-goal advantage five minutes after conceding, things took a turn when David Martinez was sent off in the 27th minute. Insigne reduced the gap to a goal before the break, but Toronto couldn’t make the most of their man advantage in the second half.

Rojas scored once again in the 59th minute, and Inter Miami conceded only once after that, 11 minutes from time. Up next for the club is their Round-of-16 Leagues Cup match, scheduled to take place on Monday, August 12.

Inter Miami boss Tata Martino has clarified that he will not be rushing Lionel Messi back to action. The former Barcelona man has been extremely influential for the Herons since joining the side in the summer of 2023.

So far in his time at the club, Messi has scored 25 goals and bagged 16 assists in 29 appearances across competitions. Speaking about when the Argentine could potentially return, Martino said (via AS):

“The club’s medical report came out and the new information is that. Regarding when he could come back, he will be evaluated week by week and we will see what his recovery is like, we won’t be taking any type of risk.”

It has been a stop-start season for Messi so far, having missed 14 matches for club and country in 2024. He’s made 12 MLS appearances this season, bagging as many goals and nine assists.