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Inter Miami practiced on Friday thinking there was no way Sergio Busquets was going to play in its win-or-else playoff match against Atlanta United.
A few hours later, the team got quite the surprise.
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Busquets — who coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino said was ruled out for Saturday's game — received medical clearance on Friday afternoon to play and is being listed as questionable. Busquets went through a training session on his own after the rest of the team worked out Friday, meaning Lionel Messi could have one of his most trusted teammates alongside him with the season on the line.
“We're confident in the progression of his recovery, and are hopeful he'll be available for (Saturday's) match,” the team said.
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Busquets was struck somewhere around his midsection in Game 1 of the best-of-three series and developed pneumonia-like symptoms. He didn't play in Game 2 last week — a 2-1 Atlanta win — and Inter Miami has to win Saturday just to extend its season and reach the second round of the MLS Cup playoffs.
“At best, there are four finals left,” Martino said Friday morning, in the same interview session during which he revealed that Busquets wouldn't play — because that's what he truly thought at the time. “Each of the remaining games has the characteristics of a final game and we, with the expectations we have, are ready to face it in the best way.”
Inter Miami hopes to have four games left this season — Saturday's conclusion to Round 1, and then a conference semifinal, conference final and the MLS Cup final. If Inter Miami keeps winning, all four of those matches would be at home. If it loses a match, the season ends there for the team that won the Supporters' Shield and posted the best regular-season record in MLS history.
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Atlanta has already won four elimination games this season — their two must-win matches to keep hope alive at the end of the regular season against the New York Red Bulls and Orlando City, then a wild-card match at Montreal and Game 2 of this series against Inter Miami.
The difference is that this one is an elimination match for Messi as well. And when asked this week about how Messi's numbers haven't been great in this series — no goals and one assist in the two matches — Atlanta interim coach Rob Valentino wanted no part of that storyline.
“Messi is fantastic,” Valentino said. "There is no slander on my end. He's a fantastic player. Whether people say he's produced, not produced, I don't want to hear it because he's fantastic."
Atlanta is the only MLS team to beat Inter Miami twice this season, and both wins came with Messi in the lineup; the club is 2-1-1 so far this season against the No. 1 overall seed.
The rest of MLS, combined, went 0-12-5 against Inter Miami when Messi was in the lineup. But Atlanta's plan against Messi seems to have worked; he has one goal on 19 shots, eight of which were on target, in the four matches between the clubs this season.
“What he brings to a game, what he brings to a team, just him standing on the field it requires your attention,” Atlanta United goalie Brad Guzan said. “There's very few times that Plan A works. It's Plan B and Plan C and Plan D and you have to adjust very quickly.”
Busquets, the team said, will be listed as questionable, which typically means that the club's medical staff will see how he is feeling on game day before making a final determination.
