Philadelphia Union injury updates: Baribo & Jean-Jacques face potential setbacks, Messi returns to training

The one thing you hope when sending players off to International Duty is that they come back uninjured, especially if the international window broke up a positive run of form. Unfortunately for the Philadelphia Union, two of their most important players heading into the final stretch of the season may come back from international duty carrying a new injury that could keep them sidelined for some really important games.

Danley Jean-Jacques picks up knock during strong International Window for Haiti

With 7 games left in the MLS season and sitting just outside the playoff line, Union can’t afford to drop points in too many more games, and that mountain seems to have gotten a bit harder to climb after both Tai Baribo and Danley Jean Jacques reportedly picked up knocks while away with their country.

Union’s newest signing, Danley Jean Jacques, really shined in his first 90-minute performance for Philadelphia in a 2-0 win against Red Bulls on August 31st, just before leaving for International Duty with his home country of Haiti.

Haiti played twice over the international window, a 4-1 win against Puerto Rico in which Danley bagged a goal in, and a 6-0 win against Saint Maarten. Danley looked to be gearing up for another good performance for Haiti in their match against Sint Maarten, but was taken off the pitch with an injury in the 29th minute after taking studs to the right foot.

Baribo’s planned Israel start axed by training injury

Tai Baribo left for international duty with Israel in the form of his life having scored 14 goals in his last 15 games. Baribo didn’t feature in Israel’s first game of the window, a 3-1 loss to Belgium, which surprised many considering the form Baribo has been in back in the States with Philadelphia.

Baribo also didn’t feature in Israel’s 2nd game of the window in a 2-1 loss to Italy, but that might not have been the plan for manager Ran Ben Shimon. Raanan Baranovski of Israel’s Walla Sports included in his pre-match report that Tai Baribo was set to start against Italy, but picked up an injury in training. A rough translation on what Baranovski writes on the situation:

“In addition, Tai Baribo who was supposed to start in the lineup was also injured, and the one who is expected to start in his place is Anan Halaili.”
_{Link to Raanan Baranovski’s article here: https://t.co/6wA9RIU9q0}

Despite reportedly picking up an injury that kept him out of his scheduled start, Baribo was still on the bench during Israel’s 2-1 loss against Italy, giving Union fans hope whoever injury he picked up isn’t anything too serious.

Messi Returns to Training ahead of meeting with Union

After suffering an injury in the 2024 Copa América Final back in July, Lionel Messi looks set to return to the lineup for Inter Miami after the club posted photos of him in training, just in time for a visit from the Philadelphia Union.

Messi’s right ankle injury kept him from competing and repeating as winners of the 2024 edition of the Leagues Cup, the same tournament that coincided with Messi’s arrival to the United States last summer.

In addition to missing 4 Leagues Cup games since suffering his injury, Messi has missed an additional 4 MLS matches for The Herons, and hasn’t played for them since scoring in a 3:3 draw against St Louis all the way back on June 1st.

Despite missing Lionel Messi for a total of 13 games over the last couple of months, Inter Miami look to have the Supporters Shield wrapped up. Barring a collapse in their final 7 games of the season, Miami need 15 points in their final run of gamers in order to lift this season’s Supporters Shield, despite how results for LA Galaxy and FC Cincinnati (or any other team) shake out down the stretch.

Looking Forward

We’ll have to wait to hear from Jim Curtin to see how serious injuries for either guy might be, but missing either of them during the final stretch of the season would be a massive loss for Union.

Danley looked really good against Red Bulls, and though he likely won’t hit his full potential until next season, he looks like someone who can make an impact for this Union tram straight away.

And as for Tai Baribo, there’s not much else to say about how good he’s been over the last few months. 14 goals in 15 games has helped push Union past an abysmal stretch of just one win in 16 games, and has them confident they’ll battle their way into a playoff spot.

But if either of those guys are injured, and have to miss any amount of time, it puts a huge cloud over Union’s glimmer of hope heading towards Decision Day and the end of the 2024 MLS season.

Mandatory Credit: Caean Couto-USA TODAY Sports