Lionel Messi bagged a brace on his return to MLS action after a two-month injury lay-off, with Inter Miami seeing off the Philadelphia Union.
Article continues below
Article continues below
Article continues below
Miami win 3-1 over Union on Messi's returnMessi scores twice and provides assist for SuarezMissed close to two months of action due to injuryWHAT HAPPENED?
Messi suffered a terrible ankle injury during Argentina's Copa America final win over Colombia in July. Since then, the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner has missed a further eight games, but showed his class on his return to MLS action with Inter Miami. The Herons went a goal down after Union's Mikael Uhre scored early on, however, a five-minute brace from Messi and a late Luis Suarez goal, assisted by the Argentine, gave Tata Martino's men their 19th MLS win of the regular season.
Get the MLS Season Pass today!Stream games nowAdvertisementWATCH THE CLIPWHAT MESSI SAID ABOUT HIS RETURN
Speaking after the match, Messi said: "The truth is that I'm a little tired. The heat and humidity in Miami don't help much either, but I really wanted to come back, I had been off of the field for a long time.
"Little by little I was training with the group, feeling good and that's why we decided that I would start, and I'm very happy – very happy."
IMAGOWHAT NEXT FOR MESSI?
Martino kept Messi on the field for the entirety of the match, hinting at a return to full fitness. As such, it is likely that the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner will be a starter again for Inter Miami when they take on Atalanta United on Wednesday, September 18.