Lionel Messi is set to return to Inter Miami’s starting lineup for its final preseason game against his boyhood club Newell’s Old Boys on Thursday, Miami boss Gerardo “Tata” Martino has confirmed.

Messi has been battling a groin injury that led him to sit out Miami’s friendly in Hong Kong earlier this month, sparking a furor among fans and officials, including in neighboring China, which subsequently canceled two scheduled Argentina friendlies in the country next month.

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The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner appeared as a substitute three days later against Vissel Kobe in Japan.

“I am happy to confirm that he [Messi] is going to start [tomorrow] because that is what we need to get him ready,” Martino said during a news conference on Wednesday.

“In our talks with Leo, we discussed how he feels for tomorrow. It is important that he gets minutes as we get closer to the start of the season.”

Miami has previously apologized for Messi’s absence in Hong Kong, but stressing that a “player’s health must always come first.”

“Leo had some inflammation of his adductor during the first game against the Saudi club [Al Hilal],” Martino added Wednesday. “It wasn’t an injury that merited having him stop play nor one that merited any special care or treatment or specific time away. We took it day by day.

“That’s why he played 10 minutes during the first game and that is why he could not play in Hong Kong and that’s why he played a little bit longer during the game in Japan.

“Tomorrow for sure he will add minutes and if everything goes as it is going he will be in good shape for the beginning of the season.”

Miami open the 2024 MLS season next Wednesday at home to Real Salt Lake.

Martino’s side has endured a difficult preseason, which has also seen them visit El Salvador and Saudi Arabia before arriving back in Florida for Thursday’s encounter with Messi’s first club from his native Rosario in Argentina.

Miami has won just one of its six fixtures, a 4-1 victory against a Hong Kong XI.

Also on Wednesday, Martino — another Rosario native and former player and coach of Newell’s — revealed that former Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets will not start against Newell’s in order to ensure he recovers from an ankle injury in time for the MLS season start.