Javier Mascherano confirms major Inter Miami injury blow ahead of Club World Cup opener

Inter Miami boss Javier Mascherano has ruled Jordi Alba out of Saturday's Club World Cup opener against Al Ahly.

The Herons will have the honour of competing in the first game at the newly expanded Club World Cup, with Mascherano's side set to kick off their campaign against the Egyptian Champions at Hard Rock Stadium.

Inter Miami should enter the contest in a confident mood after recording home victories in their last two MLS outings. 

They recorded a 4-2 win over CF Montreal, before they eased to a 5-1 victory against Columbus Crew at the start of the month to leave them in third place in the Eastern Conference with 29 points from 16 matches.

The experienced Alba was absent for the dominant win over Columbus, but there may have been hope that he would recover in time for the Club World Cup clash against Al Ahly.

Mascherano confirms Alba injury blow

However, Mascherano has confirmed that the left-back, along with Yannick Bright, will be absent for the highly-anticipated fixture.

"Jordi and Yannick are not available for this game but hopefully they will be for the second game," Mascherano told reporters in his pre-match press conference. 

"Obviously we would have loved to have everyone fit for this game and have our full roster, that would allow us to be stronger."

The pair will look to recover for Inter Miami's second group match against Portuguese giants Porto on June 19 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Inter Miami will then conclude the group phase on June 23 when they return to Hard Rock Stadium for a meeting with Brazilian side Palmeiras.

Messi acknowledges Inter Miami challenge

After returning from international duty with Argentina, Lionel Messi will hope to play a starring role in Inter Miami's Club World Cup campaign.

The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner lifted the Club World Cup on three occasions during his time with Barcelona, but he has indicated that he has lower expectations for Inter Miami's appearance at the tournament.

"It’s a beautiful tournament. It’s exciting to be here, to play in it," Messi told the media. "But it’s with a different mindset than when I played it with other teams.

"Still, I’m full of energy and hope, looking forward to competing against the best and performing well."

The Argentine has scored 15 goals and provided six assists in 20 competitive appearances for Inter Miami this season, including nine goal contributions in his last three matches for the club.