27.01.2009 11:55
Keita and Márquez rejoin squad
Berta Brau
The Barça squad are still preparing for the derby on Thursday, and were able to welcome back Márquez and Keita today. They trained with the rest of the players, as did three members of the reserve team.
There were 25 players for training on pitch number 1 at the Ciudad Deportiva Joan Gamper, the game
with Espanyol on Thursday being the main topic of conversation. Rafa Márquez and Seydou Keita were
both back for the session that got under way at 11.00 am.
Keita and Márquez
The Malian has been training in isolation from his
colleagues for the last two sessions as he gets over a pulled muscle in his right leg.
Márquez, who also worked alone on
Monday
, and also went through a special warm-up today with a fitness coach, later joined the rest of
the team for the other activities. He hurt the soleus muscle in his left leg in last
Wednesday’s first leg encounter at Montjuïc.
Three reserves
Pep Guardiola also included three Barça Atlètic players in today’s session. Víctor
Vázquez, Jeffren and goalkeeper Miño were invited along, while the rest of the reserve squad
trained just a few metres away on pitch number 4.
Working on strength
The session got off to an intense start, with the players
training with weights and elastics. The first part of the session then concluded with the players
working on ball control in pairs. But this was just for the outfield players, as the goalkeepers
spent the time working on specific aspects related to their duties.