Lionel Messi suffered his first defeat for Inter Miami on Saturday, succumbing to a 1-0 loss against FC Cincinnati which ended the club’s hopes of reaching the playoffs.
Messi had missed Miami’s last four games due to injury and the club faltered in his absence, losing two and drawing two of its fixtures.
He returned to the field for just over half an hour on Saturday but was unable to prevent Cincinnati from taking the lead after 78 minutes thanks to Álvaro Barreal’s strike.
“His injury is healed, but his rhythm was just off,” Miami’s head coach Gerardo Martino said, according to ESPN. “He hasn’t played much, that’s why I only played him 35 minutes.”
Miami has won eight times with Messi in the side since he has joined the club, and just once with him absent.
The Argentine will now join up with his international squad for its World Cup qualifying matches against Paraguay on October 13 and Peru on October 18.
