Barça forwards Messi on Suarez on track for derby vs. Espanyol
The pair trained on Wednesday and should be fine to play on Saturday
Ernesto Valverde's now has his mind fixed on this weekend's game when FC Barcelona welcome Espanyol. The Barça coach has nearly all his internationals back for Wednesday's training session at the Ciudad Deportiva Joan Gamper.
There are a couple of things he must decide on before Saturday's Catalan derby, though, including the fitness of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez. The Argentine trained normally on Wednesday after hurting his groin in his country's loss to Venezuela. For that reason, he didn't travel for Tuesday's game against Morocco and has had four days off. He completed the whole session on Wednesday and seems 100 percent.
Luis Suarez is not quite there yet. The Uruguayan sprained an ankle against Real Betis and is still not fully fit. He trained alone earlier this week and on Wednesday took part in some of the main session with his teammates.
How he progressed in the coming days will be key as Valverde decides whether he will play against Espanyol -- Barça have a 10 point lead in La Liga.
Also in Wednesday's training session were returning internationals Ter Stegen, Nelson Semedo, Ivan Rakitic, Todibo, Aleñá, Umtiti and Vermaelen. Valverde also called up youngsters Morer, Chumi, Oriol Busquets, Collado, Riqui Puig and Pol Tristán.
