Inter Miami will have to rely heavily on Lionel Messi’s firepower as they prepare for Sunday’s Club World Cup opener against Al Ahly, with coach Javier Mascherano forced to reshuffle his backline due to a string of injuries.
Kickoff is scheduled for 2am South African time.
Fullback Jordi Alba, fellow defender Gonzalo Lujan and defensive midfielder Yannick Bright have all been ruled out of the Group A clash at the Hard Rock Stadium.
“They are not available for this game, hopefully they will be for the second game,” Mascherano told a press conference on Friday.
Alba, one of Messi’s former Barcelona teammates, is sidelined with a hamstring issue.
There were also concerns regarding the fitness of centre back David Martinez.
“David had some kind of pain yesterday and we did not want to take any risks,” said Mascherano.
