Messi makes positive step towards return from ankle injury

Lionel Messi has returned to group training with Inter Miami on Wednesday, more than six weeks after the Argentina captain left the Copa America final with a badly sprained right ankle.

Messi is yet to feature for Inter Miami since this injury and there is still no official timetable for when the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, will play again.

“To see him on the field is great,” Inter Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender said after the Wednesday workout. “I know he’s been getting treatment every single day, training every single day. He’s dealt with things before. He’s been there, done that and he’s still doing it at the highest level. To see him recoup from the kind of injury we saw at Copa America and be available for us this season, it goes to show the quality of care we have here.”

Messi has 12 goals and 13 assists in 12 MLS games with Inter Miami this season.

However, the Argentina forward has missed 14 of the club’s league matches, including each of the last eight either because he was playing for Argentina or recovering from the ankle injury.

Inter Miami visits Chicago on Saturday, then doesn’t return to MLS play until a Sept. 14 match with Philadelphia. If Messi doesn’t play this weekend, that means he’d have two more weeks to continue rehabbing before returning to game action.