Andres Iniesta admits Barcelona haven’t been able to prepare for the Clasico in the best way due to the international break.
The majority of Luis Enrique’s players have been away with their national teams, with Luis Suarez, Neymar and Lionel Messi returning to South America for World Cup 2018 qualifiers.
“It’s not the best way to prepare for a match but it’s normal given the schedule we have,” Iniesta told a Press conference, AS reports, suggesting it was good for the players to get a game while on their travels.
“The ones who stayed behind tried to recover and the ones who were away, played. I don’t think Messi and Suarez will be affected if they don’t arrive in good time. They played.
“We know the opponent and we know what we have to do.”
Iniesta didn’t join up with the Spain squad for friendly draws with Italy and Romania and provided an update on his situation.
“I feel good, better than the discomfort I had against Arsenal,” he revealed.
“I’m slowly returning to the team. Hopefully everything goes normally and then I can be with the team.”
Jeremy Mathieu appears to be Barca’s only victim of the so-called FIFA virus – the instances of players returning from international duty with injuries.
“It looks bad for Mathieu. It’s not positive, he’s an important teammate,” Iniesta said, amid reports the defender’s season could be over.
