The Barcelona squad got a big boost on Friday with the return to full training of its talismanic defender and captain, Carles Puyol.
With two days to go until the away clash with Mallorca at the Estadi Iberostar, the centre-back is in with a shout of making it into Tito Vilanova’s squad for the match.
Puyol, who dislocated his left elbow after a heavy fall during the Catalan outfit’s 2-0 Champions League win away at Benfica on 2nd October, was not required to undergo surgery and is instead following a dedicated rehabilitation regime.
This time around the ‘Azulgrana’ captain has not beaten the odds to make a sooner-than-expected comeback, although his recovery is on schedule.
After making inroads over the last few days, in which he has been training separately from the team, he stands a chance of being fit for the tie against Mallorca.
This means Barça has a chance of having its first-choice centre-back pairing available, as Gerard Piqué got the medical all-clear earlier this week and featured for the latter stages of the Champions League defeat against Celtic.
On the other hand, the midfielder Thiago Alcántara continues to train away from his teammates, while B-team players Tello, Quintillà and Miguel Ángel were drafted in by Tito Vilanova to round off the session.
Source: Marca
