Inter Miami boss Javier Mascherano has ruled Jordi Alba out of Saturday’s Club World Cup opener against Al Ahly.
The Herons will have the honor of competing in the first game at the newly expanded Club World Cup, with Mascherano’s side set to kick off their campaign against the Egyptian champions at Hard Rock Stadium.
Inter Miami should enter the contest in a confident mood after recording home victories in their last two MLS outings.
They recorded a 4-2 win over CF Montreal, followed by a 5-1 victory against Columbus Crew earlier this month, leaving them in third place in the Eastern Conference with 29 points from 16 matches.
The experienced Alba was absent for the dominant win over Columbus, but there may have been hopes that he would recover in time for the Club World Cup clash against Al Ahly.
Javier Mascherano confirmed the injury setback for Alba
However, Javier Mascherano has confirmed that the left-back, along with Yannick Bright, will be absent for the highly anticipated fixture.
“Jordi and Yannick are not available for this game but hopefully they will be for the second game,” Javier Mascherano told reporters in his pre-match press conference.
“Obviously we would have loved to have everyone fit for this game and have our full roster; that would allow us to be stronger.”
The pair will aim to recover for Inter Miami’s second group match against Portuguese giants Porto on June 19 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Inter Miami will then conclude the group phase on June 23 when they return to Hard Rock Stadium for a meeting with Brazilian side Palmeiras.
Messi acknowledges Inter Miami challenge
After returning from international duty with Argentina, Lionel Messi will hope to play a starring role in Inter Miami’s Club World Cup campaign.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner lifted the Club World Cup on three occasions during his time with Barcelona but has indicated that he has lower expectations for Inter Miami’s appearance in the tournament.
“It’s a beautiful tournament. It’s exciting to be here, to play in it,” Messi told the media. “But it’s with a different mindset than when I played it with other teams.”
“Still, I’m full of energy and hope, looking forward to competing against the best and performing well.”
The Argentine has scored 15 goals and provided six assists in 20 competitive appearances for Inter Miami this season, including nine goal contributions in his last three matches for the club.
