Luis Suárez and Lionel Messi likely to play against Espanyol this weekend

The two players are getting over niggling injuries

Luis Suárez and Lionel Messi are recovering well from their respective injuries and are looking likely to play this weekend when FC Barcelona take on Espanyol.

Messi has been complaining of a problem in his pelvis for a bit now and that was the official reason why he did not play against Morocco, a match Argentina ended up winning 1-0. However, he is back to doing normal training. Rumors say Messi’s injury was always very minor.

Suárez has been out with a longer layoff and a slightly more serious problem. He had to be substituted against Real Betis towards the end of the match due to an ankle problem. He missed both of Uruguay’s friendlies while recovering. He has done part of the training with the group but he is not 100% yet.

Both forwards could feature for Ernesto Valverde in the Barcelona derby, but the coach could choose to rotate a bit with a tough fixture list on the horizon. However, a lot of players are just returning from their international teams, while Messi and Suárez have been in Barcelona for longer. That may also influence Valverde’s choices.

Another player returning from injury is Ousmane Dembélé. The winger has been out of action since Barcelona’s win over Olympique Lyonnais in the UEFA Champions League. Reports say he is in a race for fitness to be ready to start against Manchester United in the Champions League quarterfinals.

Source: barcablaugranes.com