Lionel Messi's new teammate and goalkeeper at Inter Miami Nick Marsman was hospitalised after being bitten by a "poisonous spider". Messi confirmed his transfer to the Major League Soccer club earlier this month as he ended a two-year stint with French Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint Germain.
The former Feyenoord gloveman has been in the hospital for the past three days. Marsman was bitten while his family was visiting a zoo in Florida. Later Marsman's wife, Nathalie den Dekker, opened up about the scary series of events on Instagram. She revealed that the 32-year-old was under medical observation after a poisonous arachnid sunk its teeth into him.
She wrote: "The downside of living in a tropical climate… is when you go to the zoo and get bitten by a poisonous spider. End up being hospitalised for three days." But she later added that Marsman has since returned home and returning to 100% fitness. "Happy to have you back home, now get well soon," she added.
Talking about Lionel Messi, Inter Miami is preparing for the Argentine’s debut in the MLS with reports suggesting the former Barcelona man will play his first match against Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup on July 21. The Herons also confirmed that the club will be increasing crowd capacity at DRV PNK Stadium by 3,000 to 3,200 seats in the next four weeks by filling in the corners, raising capacity to about 22,000.
Further expressing his thoughts on Messi’s impact on USA football, Inter Miami owner Jorge Mas talked to the Miami Herald about Leo Messi will be able to push the MLS into an upper echelon of global sporting tournaments in the coming years. He said, “I think there will always be a before and after Messi when we talk about the sport in the United States. I have a very, very strong-held belief that we can create in North America and the United States if not the greatest league, one of the top two leagues in the world. I cannot overemphasize the magnitude of this announcement.”
