Lionel Messi back in Barcelona training already after missing just two games with a broken arm… and could return for Rayo Vallecano clash
- Lionel Messi suffered a broken arm in Barcelona’s 4-2 win over Sevilla
- Argentine was expected to miss several weeks of action through injury
- But after sitting out of Inter Milan and Real Madrid Wins is now ready to return
- Ernesto Valverde will assess his fitness before Sunday clash with Rayo Vallecano
Lionel Messi is back in training for Barcelona after missing the last two games because of a broken bone in his arm.
Messi suffered the injury on October 20 in their 4-2 win against Sevilla which was expected to sideline the Argentina forward for several weeks.
But the 31-year-old, who missed the Champions League win over Inter and Sunday’s 5-1 El Clasico triumph against Real Madrid, joined his team-mates in a photo tweeted by the club with the words ‘Leo Messi returns to training’.
Lionel Messi is back in training with Barcelona having made a quicker return than expected
Coach Ernesto Valverde will check Messi’s fitness before deciding whether to bring him back for Saturday’s league game at Rayo Vallecano or delay his return until next Tuesday, when Barcelona travel to the San Siro to face Inter in the Champions League.
Messi had been in stunning form before his injury, netting 12 goals in as many games.
This included four in his last three against Sevilla, where he suffered his injury, Valencia and Tottenham Hotspur.
Messi was forced off against Sevilla earlier in the month with a broken arm
The Argentine forward was wearing a sling at the Nou Camp during his side’s Champions League victory over Barcelona just days later
Barcelona are currently progressing well domestically and in Europe as they sit top of La Liga by a point from surprise outfit Deportivo Alaves, while they look all but certain to reach the Champions League last 16 as group winners.
Barca are back in action on Wednesday in the Copa del Rey when they travel to Cultural Leonesa, with Messi’s stand-in Ousmane Dembele is expected to start.
Dembele has struggled to settle at the Nou Camp following his £96million arrival from Borussia Dortmund last term, with the Spanish side considering cashing in on the forward who is being tracked by Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea.
The Gunners are also weighing up a swoop for another Barca outcast in Malcolm, but are expected to face a fight with Tottenham Hotspur to secure his signature.
But the forward was already out the sling as he watched his side beat Real Madrid and is now set to make a welcome return ahead of schedule
