Here are latest clues Lionel Messi will return from injury against Cincinnati on Saturday

The best way to gauge Lionel Messi’s injury situation these days is to check the secondary market prices for tickets on the eve of his Inter Miami games.

They plunged before each of the games he has missed but were back up Friday after the Argentine star trained with the full team for the second day in a row and the team posted a photo of Messi with the cutline “Nos vemos mañana” (We’ll see you tomorrow) on Twitter/X.

All indications are he will return Saturday for the home game against FC Cincinnati and then, barring a setback, would travel to Argentina and play World Cup qualifying matches against Paraguay Oct. 12 and Peru Oct. 17.

Messi has played just one of the past six Inter Miami games and asked to be taken out after 37 minutes after aggravating an old upper leg injury.

The game Saturday against Cincinnati is probably the last time fans would have a chance to see Messi at DRV PNK Stadium this season because Inter Miami’s final home game is Oct. 18 against Charlotte FC, and Messi will have just played in Peru the night before.

Assistant coach Javi Morales, who met with the media Friday morning, said of Messi’s status: “It’s more of the same, we have to evaluate him day by day. The good news is he trained [Thursday], he will train [Friday], and afterwards we will make a decision. But he is doing better every day.”

The news was not as good about Leo Campana. The Ecuadorean forward injured his hamstring in last week’s game against NYCFC, missed the Chicago game Wednesday and is out Saturday, as well. Morales suggested his recovery could be a longer process, but said they hoped he would be back in time for the final two games against Charlotte.

Left back Jordi Alba, also out with a hamstring strain, is expected to return to team training next week and could be back for the Oct. 18 Charlotte game. He worked out individually with a trainer on Friday.

The return of Messi would be huge, as Miami is hanging on by a thread in the Eastern Conference playoff race with three games remaining. Inter Miami is in 14^th place with 33 points, five places short of the playoff line, and must win all three games and get help from other teams to have a realistic chance of advancing.

FC Cincinnati sits atop the East at 19-5-8 with 65 points and has already clinched the Supporters’ Shield awarded to the team with the league’s best record.

“Our destiny is not in our hands anymore, but that doesn’t mean we won’t still try to reach the playoffs,” Morales said. “We know we must win all three, and the most important is Saturday because it’s the next game, and our attitude is the same as always, to get three points at home.”

The game is a rematch of the U.S. Open Cup semifinal Aug. 23, which Miami won in a penalty kick shootout. Cincinnati is looking to avenge that loss and bounce back from a 2-1 midweek home loss to New York Red Bulls that put a bit of a damper on the team’s Supporters’ Shield celebration.

Cincinnati, with the playoffs clinched, made seven lineup changes against New York, including stars Lucho Acosta, Brandon Vazquez and Alvaro Barreal. It remains to be seen which lineup the visitors will use against Miami.

“When teams have already qualified, sometimes they rest and rotate players, so Cincinnati may do that,” said midfielder Nico Stefanelli. “Be we have to focus on ourselves and win. We have no alternative.”

Notes: According to local podcaster Daniel Solana, some members of “La Familia” supporter groups had planned to boycott the game Saturday to protest the season ticket price increase for 2024, but club management is in conversations with them, so they will attend the game but without flags and musical instruments….Seven Inter Miami players have been called up to their national teams for games next week: Messi (Argentina), Facundo Farias (Argentina), Robert Taylor (Finland), Kamal Miller (Canada), Josef Martinez (Venezuela), Edison Azcona (Dominican Republic), David Ruiz (Honduras).