“Luis is fine as far as the injury goes, he has played all the games, and scored two goals in the last home game and one goal on Thursday,” Morales said. “The injury is fine, and he can play. But what we have talked about is Luis, Leo, all the players, have been playing a lot of minutes during this stretch and we have to manage it the best we can because it’s a long season and we’re just starting. We can’t do anything crazy. Same as Leo, we will talk to Luis and see how he feels.”

Jordi Alba, who was ill and missed the Nashville game, was back at training on Saturday, as was Leo Campana, who sat out the Nashville game after sustaining a leg injury during training on Wednesday.

“Jordi feels much better and is at practice, so we’ll see about him,” Morales said. “I don’t think there will be any problem. Leo Campana has barely any pain and is practicing, so we will see if he is ready for Sunday.”

The Montreal roster has several faces familiar to Inter Miami players, staff and fans. Venezuelan forward Josef Martinez, who signed with Miami last year with much fanfare, now plays for Montreal, as do former Inter Miami players Bryce Duke and Ariel Lassiter.

Martinez scored the winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Dallas last weekend. Duke and Lassiter are both starters.

“It will be a difficult match for us, they have players we know well because they played here in the past,” Morales said. “It will be special to see Josef, a great guy, we have great memories with him here. But (Sunday) we will face him and try to beat Montreal.”

Montreal is doing well under new coach Laurent Courtas after a down year in 2023. In addition to Martinez, the team added Uruguayan forward Matias Coccaro and Brazilian defender Ruan, and Bulgarian midfielder Dominik Iankov, who has been slowed by injury in recent weeks.

Note

Morales and Paraguayan Inter Miami midfielder Diego Gomez were asked about reports that the team is finalizing a deal with Paraguayan national team midfielder Matias Rojas.

A league source with knowledge of the negotiations confirmed to the Miami Herald that Rojas is expected to sign in the coming days.

Rojas, 28, became a free agent after leaving Brazilian club Corinthians due to a contract dispute over unpaid wages, much of it in image rights, according to Brazilian news reports. The left-footed attacking midfielder had three assists in 30 games since joining Corinthians last year. Before that he played for Cerro Porteno in Paraguay, and then for Argentine clubs Lanus, Defensa y Justicia, and Racing Club.

“As for Matias Rojas, these are all rumors at this point and we will know once the final decisions are made,” Morales said. “We are looking for players in different positions to improve the team.”

Gomez added: “I have seen that the team is interested in Matias and I have spoken to him, we’ll see what happens.”

Inter Miami is also reportedly in talks with Argentine right back Marcelo Weigandt of Boca Juniors as a replacement for DeAndre Yedlin, who was traded to FC Cincinnati.

©2024 Miami Herald. Visit miamiherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.