Lionel Messi's fitness has been a talking point ever since he was withdrawn in the 89th minute of Argentina's home win over Ecuador in mid-September.
After sitting out their road trip to Bolivia, Messi returned to club duty with Inter Miami, only to be yanked in the 37th minute of his first match back against Toronto FC. He has since sat four straight games, including the U.S. Open Cup final against the Houston Dynamo, none from which Inter Miami have emerged victorious.
Thus, it was somewhat of a surprise to see Lionel Messi's name included on the roster for Argentina in the October international window. The reigning world champions face qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup against Paraguay and Peru in the coming two weeks.
The Sporting News details what role Messi will play for his country in the coming matches and if he will see the field despite not playing for his club in recent weeks.
MORE: Argentina schedule & results for 2023 as CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying begins
Will Lionel Messi play for Argentina in October?
Lionel Messi was included amongst the crowded 34-man squad for Argentina's two October matches against Paraguay and Peru.
The defending World Cup champions started 2026 qualifying with wins over Ecuador and Bolivia in the opening round of fixtures last month. They will continue CONMEBOL qualification by hosting Paraguay on October 12 before a trip to Peru five days later.
The 34 players called in is a huge amount, with head coach Lionel Scaloni dipping deep into his player pool for the international break. Amongst the names is 21-year-old Facundo Farias, Messi's teammate at Inter Miami, who has never before been called up to the senior national team.
MORE: What is Lionel Messi's injury? Latest on "fatigue" contributing to scar tissue problem
#SelecciónMayor Lista de convocados 🇦🇷 para los próximos encuentros ante Paraguay y Perú, correspondientes a la Fecha FIFA de Eliminatorias. pic.twitter.com/W5pReELCAK
— 🇦🇷 Selección Argentina ⭐⭐⭐ (@Argentina) October 5, 2023
At first it was unclear whether Messi will actually play for Argentina in these two matches, given that he had played just 37 minutes for Inter Miami across their past five fixtures since the previous international break. However, it now seems that he is likely to take part in both matches as long as no new issues crop up.
Messi participated in full training with his teammates on Tuesday, October 10 and looks set to play a key role for the national team against Paraguay on Thursday.
MORE: Lionel Messi's full injury history throughout his career for club and country
Fixture congestion contributing to Lionel Messi injury
Lionel Messi's inclusion on the Argentina roster has caused some concern within the Inter Miami fanbase, considering his recent absence.
Inter Miami head coach Gerardo Martino has blamed Messi's fitness concerns partially on the team's heavy recent fixture list, saying the squad as a whole is feeling the weight of the crowded recent run of games.
"We have started to feel the consequences of the amount of games we've played," Martino concluded after defeat to the Houston Dynamo in the U.S. Open Cup final.
"We knew advancing in the Leagues Cup would have a price, especially because we did more movement in the summer and added more players and others who came from European football," Martino then said.
Messi joined Inter Miami this summer and immediately saw heavy minutes from the start. Between July 22 and August 20, he played in all seven of Inter Miami's Leagues Cup matches, starting six of them and logging 594 minutes. He then played the full 90 minutes in their U.S. Open Cup semifinal against FC Cincinnati and was then factored heavily into the restart of MLS play before being injured.
However, his club season will soon come to an end and he is set to earn significant rest. Messi returned against FC Cincinnati in their league matchup on October 7, but was powerless to prevent Inter Miami from elimination in the MLS playoff race. Thus, their 2023 campaign will conclude with the end of the final regular season match on October 21, meaning Messi will only have international duty between then and the start of the new 2024 season in February or March.
