Messi returns to the group with a bulky bandage

Good news at Can Barça: Leo Messi is already here. The Argentine forward returned to training on Tuesday after needing just over 48 hours of rest and treatment with anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce the severe bruise he suffered on his left ankle on Saturday against Napoli. The player appeared on field 2 of the Ciutat Esportiva with a bulky bandage that covered the affected area, but that did not prevent him from exercising with absolute normality.

Another who is also having good feelings in recent days is Ousmane Dembélé. After the setback that he experienced two weeks ago and that forced him to be more cautious in his recovery, he now accumulates almost eight training sessions – four of them complete – without noticing any discomfort, so the doors to Lisbon are wide open. Coach Quique Setién already announced that the player would travel to the Portuguese capital, although he did not specify if he would do so with the medical discharge or not.

Everything indicates that this Wednesday or Thursday, Dembélé receives the approval of the medical services, thus ending a six-month ordeal since the last injury and nine without playing a football game.

Right now, the only player totally ruled out to travel to Lisbon -apart from Arthur- is defender Samuel Umtiti, who has still totally disappeared from the group since he began a conservative treatment with stem cells 45 days ago to overcome the joint degeneration of his knee.