Messi joins Inter Miami training for first time since ankle injury

Lionel Messi returned to group training with Inter Miami on Wednesday, more than six weeks after the Argentina captain left the Copa America final with a badly sprained right ankle.

There is still no official timetable for when Messi, the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner, will play again for Inter Miami which has the best record in Major League Soccer so far this season. Inter Miami visits Chicago on Saturday, then doesn't return to MLS play until a Sept. 14 match with Philadelphia. If Messi doesn't play this weekend, that means he'd have two more weeks to continue rehabbing before returning to game action.

Messi was not selected by Argentina to play in World Cup qualifiers in early September.

To see him on the field is great, Inter Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender said after the Wednesday workout. I know he's been getting treatment every single day, training every single day. He's dealt with things before. He's been there, done that and he's still doing it at the highest level. To se