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Inter Miami will be missing Argentina World Cup finalists Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul for their Wednesday evening home fixture against the Chicago Fire as MLS play gets back underway.
The tournament's Silver Ball and Silver Boot recipient and the experienced defensive midfielder have been given a brief break after falling just short of claiming a second World Cup title with La Albiceleste on Sunday. According to ESPN, the pair are making use of the 21-day rest window as negotiated by FIFAPro, an option that not every MLS player who participated in the World Cup has chosen to take.
Unlike the top five European leagues, which were the most heavily represented at this summer's marquee event, MLS's regular-season schedule has prompted other tournament participants to return before the 21-day window closes. The remaining 44 representatives, however, were knocked out prior to Messi and De Paul.
"The World Cup wrapped up just hours ago," said head coach Guillermo Hoyos. "Their focus right now is to rest and reconnect with their families back home ... They will be away for as long as necessary."
Beyond the absence of the two key Argentine players, Miami will also be without injured duo Tadeo Allende, David Ayala, Maxi Falcón and Gonzalo Luján. Young talents Santiago Morales and Alexander Shaw are additionally unavailable due to international commitments with the U-20 U.S. men's national team at the Concacaf Championship.
Miami Take on Lewandowski's Debut
Once linked with a move to the Herons, renowned striker Robert Lewandowski is set to face Miami in his MLS debut with Chicago. The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich forward was originally scheduled to make his debut last week against ex-teammate Thomas Müller and the Vancouver Whitecaps, before smoky and hazardous air conditions in Chicago forced the match to be postponed.
While Lewandowski is not expected to start, a substitute appearance will mark him as the latest high-profile name to enter MLS and signal a new chapter for the Fire, who sold 29-year-old MLS Golden Boot leader Hugo Cuypers to CF Monterrey to free up a starting spot for the Polish international.
"One thing I can tell you about Robert is that he has an incredible work ethic," said manager Gregg Berhalter. "When you think about a guy coming into the squad, who was dealing with jet lag all last week and he's still pushing the players in training, we're doing fitness work, he's driving that and putting in extra time afterward.
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"If you look at our squad right now, it's essentially the same except Robert coming in for Hugo. And we've been doing well up to this point. You'd expect, based on that logic, that we'd be even stronger."
Following Wednesday's contest, both clubs will face off again on Saturday, heading into the MLS All-Star Game in Charlotte next week — an event that saw Cuypers, Messi and De Paul named to the MLS roster, though all three appear unlikely to participate.