As Barcelona trained on Thursday, only one of their six injured players, Raphinha, returned to work with the group, as El Clasico looms just two days away.
The Brazilian has a good chance of appearing against Real Madrid, while Pedri, Sergi Roberto and Jules Kounde are all ruled out of action.
It had been hoped that Robert Lewandowski and Frenkie de Jong would be able to return with him, but both did individual work on Thursday, and as a result, looked unlikely to play.
However Diario AS report that de Jong and Lewandowski will take pain-killing injections ahead of Friday’s training session and trial their fitness. If all goes well, then they will play in El Clasico.
Indeed, Lewandowski, who injured his ankle ligaments, could even start against Real Madrid if he does not have any issues, while de Jong is much more likely to start on the bench even if he is struggling.
It’s a risky strategy. Manager Xavi Hernandez has been consistent in his message that they will not force players to come back earlier than necessary, but this would be exactly that. Barcelona are down to 13 first-team players currently, and their presence could make a major difference, but equally risks causing them major problem with their fitness down the line.
The tone of this article (and others) is Barca bias. At the end of the day it is 11 vs 11 on the field. Real Madrid lost more key players when the season started and while most have recovered, key positions have replacements. This type of reporting is setting it up for 2 outcomes – a Barca loss (“they were decimated by injuries”) and if Barca win (“Barca overcame Madrid despite the injuries”). Each side’s 11 players do the same amount of work so please report fair.