Barcelona received positive news ahead of their upcoming match against Real Betis, scheduled for Saturday, as the duo of Raphinha and Frenkie de Jong returned to group training, according to Spanish newspaper «Mundo Deportivo».
The Catalan team resumed their training on Thursday, following their 4-1 victory over Galatasaray in the second round of the Champions League, as part of their preparations for the upcoming encounter against Real Betis at the «La Cartuja» stadium.
The training sessions witnessed the Brazilian Raphinha's return to work with the group for the first time since suffering an injury during his participation with his national team against Australia on September 29th, after suffering from swelling in the back of his right thigh.
Raphinha missed Barcelona's matches against Getafe and Galatasaray due to the injury, and in the past period, he contented himself with individual training, before returning to participate in group training on Thursday, giving the technical staff a positive boost before the Real Betis game.
In contrast, the Dutchman Frenkie de Jong has been training normally with his teammates for more than a week, but he is still awaiting medical clearance that allows him to return to playing matches, after suffering an injury during his participation with the Dutch national team in the World Cup.
The German coach Hansi Flick had expressed optimism about the possibility of regaining de Jong's services before the Real Betis match, in light of the progress the player is making in his rehabilitation program and his return to normal training with the team.
According to the Spanish newspaper, Flick will determine the players' status in coordination with the medical staff, and based on their feeling of readiness, in order to make the final decision regarding their potential participation in the upcoming match, whether by including the duo in the squad, or settling for one of them, or postponing their return together.
As for the rest of the players, most of Barcelona's squad participated in training normally, with the exception of Andreas Christensen and Rony, as the team awaits the final decision on Raphinha and de Jong's readiness, amid hopes of regaining their services before the anticipated match against Real Betis.