Barcelona held training today, Monday, at the Joan Gamper Sports Complex, in preparation for Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg against Atlético Madrid.
Barcelona will return to training tomorrow, Tuesday, for their final session before hosting Atlético Madrid, and manager Hansi Flick and João Cancelo will appear at a press conference.
The newspaper "Mundo Deportivo" reported that Barcelona trained without Frenkie de Jong, as the Dutch midfielder is in the final stages of recovery from an injury to his right hamstring.
De Jong sustained the injury during training on 26 February, and the club estimated his recovery period at five to six weeks.
Next Thursday, immediately after the match against Atlético Madrid, his recovery period will be over, and Hansi Flick and his coaching staff are confident that De Jong will be fit for the Espanyol match.
The club aims to give Frenkie some playing time in the Espanyol derby, as well as in the decisive Champions League second leg against Atlético Madrid at Wembley Stadium, scheduled for Tuesday 14 April.
Also absent from training were the injured Marc Bernat, who suffered a sprain to his left ankle in the previous match against Atlético, and Andreas Christensen, who is still recovering from a partial tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
Meanwhile, Ronald Araújo trained with his teammates after being substituted on Saturday at the Wanda Metropolitano.
The Uruguayan defender had been suffering from a slight muscle strain in his left thigh, but he will be fit to play in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final.
To complete the training session, Flick called up players from the reserve team: Tommy Marquez, Alvaro Cortes, Xavi Espart and Diego Cuchen.
Brazilian Raphinha also arrived at the training ground, having travelled from his home country to the Blaugrana’s training facilities to continue his recovery from a biceps femoris injury in his right leg.
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