The 17 available players have trained this morning at the Ciutat Esportiva. Andrés Iniesta, who is still in the process of recovering, was seen on the grass of the pitch working for part of the session with the rest of his team mates.

After the Champions League match on Wednesday in Minsk, the players of FC Barcelona began to prepare this Friday morning for their next League game against Sporting Gijón. Guardiola’s team plays on Sunday (20:00) at El Molinón, the final part of a marathon stretch of games before the international break.

Barça exercised at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper with the 17 available players present, plus youngster Isaac Cuenca. In addition, for the first time since being injured in the European match against Milan, Andrés Iniesta was back on the pitch. The midfielder from Fuentealbilla is still recovering from the tear to the femoral bicep (hamstring) of his left leg and as part of his rehabilitation process, he trained for a small part of the session with the group.

For his part, Carles Puyol worked apart from his team mates after suffering some bruising in the match against BATE Borisov. As for the other injured members of the squad, Alexis is no longer in the city of Barcelona, having returned to Chile to continue his recovery. Meanwhile, Afellay is awaiting his operation which will take place on Monday.

Source and image: fcbarcelona.cat