Messi rested for 'Sunday Night Soccer' match in Houston

Lionel Messi will sit out Inter Miami's Major League Soccer game at the Houston Dynamo on Sunday as the club look to manage his minutes.

A club spokesman confirmed to AFP that Messi didn't travel to Houston on Saturday but wasn't injured and was being rested.

Sunday's game was selected by the league for the new standalone "Sunday Night Soccer" broadcast on Apple TV, which MLS is hoping will grow fan interest in the league.

Inter Miami have had a busy start to the season with their MLS opener last week coming in between the two legs of the first round of the CONCACAF Champions Cup.

Messi started all those games, but the club have opted to sit the 37-year-old for what would have been the fourth game in 12 days.

Miami are in CONCACAF action again on Thursday when they host Jamaican club Cavalier in the first leg of their two-legged tie with Messi expected to start in that game.

Inter's busy schedule continues into March with their first eight games of the season coming in the span of 26 days.

Messi had trained on Friday with the rest of his teammates, including 38-year-old Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez, who has made the trip to Houston.