This has not looked like a normal reset for Messi.
There have been difficult moments: a missed penalty in the 4-1 loss to Nashville, a fine after the incident with Philadelphia Union’s Quinn Sullivan, and a goal in the 2-1 defeat by Toronto that could not rescue the result. That is not the usual standard attached to Messi, but this is clearly not a usual stretch of his career either.
Hoyos also said: “This isn't something that happens from one day to the next.” That feels like the correct tone. For all the urgency around MLS form and Inter Miami’s place in the Eastern Conference, forcing Messi back into top rhythm was never likely to work.
The report says Messi had already been struggling physically during the World Cup, and his own words underlined that pain: “I couldn't do it, my legs wouldn't carry me any further,” he wrote. “This time I tried to go against my physical limits, but I couldn't.”
Inter Miami are still waiting for a clean lift from their biggest star, but the smarter view is longer-term. With Casemiro now in the squad and the season still offering time for momentum to change, the next storyline is whether patience turns into fluency. If Messi gradually finds his legs and his peace again, Miami’s season may yet look very different by the next run of fixtures.