Defensive trio return boosts Barca

Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba and Jeremy Mathieu have all returned to training ahead of Barcelona's La Liga clash with Malaga on Saturday.

Both Pique and Alba have been missing since Barca's 4-0 victory over Manchester City in Camp Nou on 19 October, missing the league games against Valencia, Granada and Sevilla along with the return leg at Manchester City.

Mathieu injured his calf in the Catalan Super Cup defeat to Espanyol at the end of October, initially being ruled out for three weeks.

The Blaugrana will still have a series of absentees of the match, with Samuel Umtiti being ruled out for three weeks after injuring his hamstring on international duty for France, while Andres Iniesta is still sidelined with knee ligament damage while Luis Suarez will serve a one-match domestic ban.

Tags FC Barcelona Gerard Pique Jeremy Mathieu Jordi Alba
La Liga - Club News