Gonzalo Higuain is being evaluated on a day-to-day basis according to a team spokesperson after picking up an injury during Inter Miami’s match against Atlanta United on Sunday.
The Argentine forward came off the bench in the 83rd minute of the match, replacing striker Leonardo Campana. It was Higuain’s first time back on the pitch after suffering a knee injury that left him sidelined for over three weeks.
Now, it seems he’s back supporting the team from afar.
Minutes after being subbed in, the player went down while grabbing his left leg. Higuain soldered on, determined to see out the match while limping through the field. Once the final whistle sounded, he found the ground again and sat there for a bit.
While no official injury has been confirmed, reports revealed the player was on crutches around the Inter Miami facilities due to a tear in his left quad.
“I told Gonzalo two or three days ago he’d be a sub and he respects that, he wants to win and be a champion,” Neville said after the game.
“We will need him, but what’s happened is, football is really brutal. You either jump on the train with the rest of the boys that are going at 90 miles per hour or you get left at the station. Everyone on this club has to jump on the train and Gonzalo’s one of those that has to jump on the train because it’s growing and it’s growing fast, they’re getting more confidence and belief.”
It is now more likely Leonardo Campana will keep his starting role as the lone striker. The Wolves loanee has been on fire for the South Florida side, directly involving himself in six of their eight Major League Soccer goals. He’s recorded five himself.
The player earned praise from head coach Phil Neville after another goalscoring performance on Sunday against Atlanta United, recording the first strike before assisting Bryce Duke in the second.
“I think he knows he’s undroppable, I think he knows he’s in a rich vein of form and I keep telling him every single day, it’s his time. It’s his time,” Neville added post-game on Campana.
“He is going to be a top player. We want him to go to the Cup. That’s his goal, and he’s just gotta keep scoring and scoring. Last season when I was looking at all the other MLS teams, you look at Castellanos at NYC, Buksa in New England, Josef Martinez – every team seems to have a striker that scores goals. Every team seems to have a striker that is their figurehead, that is the anchor that you can always rely on through good and bad, whether you’re playing good or whether you’re playing bad, to create and score something. and he is becoming that.”
After a turbulent start, Inter Miami now sit in ninth place of the Eastern Conference table with 10 points in eight games. They return to the field on Saturday when visiting the New England Revolution.
