Lionel Messi Returns to Inter Miami as Substitute After Scar Tissue Leg Injury

Lionel Messi returned to Inter Miami for the team's match against FC Cincinnati on Saturday. He is listed as a substitute for the game.

It will be Messi's first time on the field for his team since Sept. 20 against Toronto FC, when he had to leave the game after re-aggravating a scar tissue injury in his leg.

Messi, 36, has missed five of Inter Miami's last six matches, including the team's 2-1 loss in the U.S. Open Cup final to the Houston Dynamo on Sept. 27. Inter Miami hasn't won a game since a 4-0 win in Messi's last appearance for the team against Toronto FC.

Messi has scored 11 goals in 12 matches for his team, as it is 8-0-4 with its star forward in the lineup. Inter Miami is 1-3-2 without Messi since he joined this summer.

Messi is not certain to play on Saturday, as his status is still a game time decision. However, he did returned to full practice on Thursday and Friday.

"You have to evaluate him ... He trained (Thursday) and will train (Friday). But every day it gets better," Assistant coach Javier Morales told reporters in Spanish on Friday.

Inter Miami is currently in 14th place in the MLS Eastern Conference. The team will need to finish at least in ninth place to qualify for the playoffs. After facing first-place FC Cincinnati on Saturday, the team has only two games left, both against 13th-place Charlotte.