The Chicago Fire are gearing up to face Inter Miami on Wednesday in what promises to be an exciting meeting between two of Major League Soccer's biggest stars: Robert Lewandowski and Lionel Messi.
Though the Fire first team will be mostly healthy for the game at Soldier Field, three players – the same three who missed Saturday's game at Toronto – did not train on Monday morning. Jonathan Bamba was not a participant in the full team session, while Mbekezeli Mbokazi and André Franco also worked individually despite renewed progress on their long-term injuries.
Bamba, one of the Fire's three Designated Players, did not travel to Toronto after sustaining a knock at the end of last week. In a recent downturn in form where the talented French winger is clearly low on confidence and evidently slipped behind Philip Zinckernagel, Maren Haile-Selassie, and Puso Dithejane on the depth chart, an injury setback won't do him any favors.
However, the good news is that it doesn't seem too serious and is likely to be listed as “questionable” in tomorrow's injury report.
“(Bamba) had an intensive field session today,” Head Coach Gregg Berhalter said Monday. “He was in treatment all weekend, but he was able to complete a good field session today. So my guess is there would be some availability, but we’ll have to see tomorrow.”
Mbokazi, on the other hand, is a less obvious case. The South African international center back has been out since mid-July, right after the end of the World Cup, when a thigh tear derailed his impressive 2026. At one point, surgery in Finland was planned to treat the injury, but it would have ended his season, and with the Fire in serious contention to win MLS Cup this winter, the procedure was ultimately canceled.
Now, although he will still miss considerable time, the Fire are hoping to get Mbokazi back on the field in the fall, and he participated in a light session last Friday for the first time since the injury.
Franco, who tore his ACL at Inter Miami last September, was also pictured training on Friday, and Berhalter hopes the well-rounded Portuguese midfielder could also return sooner rather than later as he approaches the one-year anniversary of his injury.
“Mbokazi and André are out (against Miami) obviously, but making good progress,” Berhalter said. “André was able to join the team in partial training on Sunday, and had a real intensive session today. So they’re all making progress.”
Both Mbokazi and Franco are currently on the Fire's short-term injured list, meaning they can be activated as soon as they're ready for action. The Fire currently only have one international slot open, and both will require such a slot, so if both return, Berhalter and Co. must acquire another one before then.
