FCBARCELONA.CAT

18.08.2009 11:29

Preparing for the Gamper

Marc Guillén / Jordi Clos

The Barça squad returned to training on Tuesday morning. ‘Ibra’ and Messi were back in action after receiving the medical all clear while Henry and Abidal, with slight niggles, trained apart from the main group.

The players went through their paces again on Tuesday in preparation for Wednesday evening’s match against Manchester City. The session took place behind closed doors at the Joan Gamper Sports Centre and was moved to 9 am to avoid the heat wave that is currently hitting the Catalan coastal region.

‘Ibra' and Messi back in training

Ahead of the team’s presentation before the fans against Manchester City, the squad has been boosted by the return to fitness of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Leo Messi. This means that the Swedish striker may well make his Barça debut on Wednesday evening.

However Thierry Henry and Eric Abidal, who both picked up knocks against Bilbao in San Mamés, had to train apart from the rest of the squad. On the up side, both Andrés Iniesta and Rafa Márquez, who are in the final stages of their recovery processes, were able to take part in some of the group workout.

Reinforcements from the reserve squad

A number of players from the reserve squad also trained at the orders of manager Josep Guardiola: Jeffren, Jonathan, Muniesa and Fontàs, who made the trip to Bilbao, as well as Montoya, Bartra, Thiago and Gai.