Inter Miami have one of the deepest squads in MLS history, yet that hasn’t stopped the Herons from picking up numerous injuries this season.
Lionel Messi has only just returned to Inter Miami training after picking up an injury last month in the Copa America final, whilst young attacker Facundo Farias has spent the entire year out after tearing his ACL in pre-season.
Heading into the final matches of the regular season, though, the Herons’ squad look in good shape to go all the way to win the Supporters’ Shield, with Taylor Twellman even tipping Inter Miami to do so with a record points total.
Yet one Inter Miami player could now be out for the remainder of the season.
Leo Afonso to miss majority of Inter Miami’s season due to sports hernia
As per Inter Miami’s official website, attacker Leo Afonso could miss the rest of the season after having surgery to repair a sports hernia injury, with the Brazilian one of the surprise breakout stars for the Herons this season.
The 23-year-old has established himself as a useful squad player with pundit Matt Doyle hailing Afonso as ‘really effective’ backup for the likes of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, with the striker able to stretch out games in the final minutes.
Yet it appears that Inter Miami will be without Afonso for the majority of their final games, with the attacker unlikely to be fit in time even if the Florida franchise make it all the way to the MLS Cup final in early December.
Indeed, Afonso still had his part to play for Inter Miami this season, and the Herons will miss the youngster greatly heading into the final regular-season games of the 2024 MLS campaign.
Afonso will be missed in the final matches of the season
Although the majority of Afonso’s minutes have come from the bench this season, the South American forward has proven to be a good option for Inter Miami in moments when the game needs to be closed out.
And heading into the final regular season matches and the follow-through into the play-offs, Afonso’s absence will be missed, with the Brazilian something of a livewire for Inter Miami when something is needed in the attack.
The 23-year-old has more than earned his stripes in MLS this year, though, and Afonso will be hopeful he is around for Inter Miami’s plans heading into 2025.