Carles Puyol could make his long awaited return to Barcelona when the team takes on Osasuna on Saturday.
Puyol has been struggling with an injury for seven months but reports indicate that he is fully fit and will likely start Saturday's game on the bench.
"If I include a player in the squad it is because he can play," Barcelona Coach Gerardo Martino said, according to ESPN. "He is ready to take part in the game. It is a great joy for all of us to have Puyol back. And even more for him. He was more worried in recent times."
Sergio Busquets, a longtime teammate of Puyol is also excited to have the captain back.
"Puyol is our captain, he is very important in the dressing room and on the pitch," Busquets said, according to ESPN. "We are very happy for him. You can see he is close to being fully back with the team. We know he will give everything for us. We are really looking forward to seeing him out on the pitch soon."
Also expected back for Blaugrana are Javier Mascherano and the irreplaceable Lionel Messi. Both have been missing in action for weeks.
The game against Osasuna comes just days before a climactic clash with AC Milan and a Clasico with Real Madrid next week. Despite the upcoming events, Martino wants his club to maintain its focus on the task at hand.
"I do not want to lose focus on this game at Osasuna," Martino said. "It is the first game after a fortnight, with 13 or 14 players who have been away with their national teams. I give importance to all games, from the first day to the last day. This is a very important week, but not a decisive week. We are centered on the problems we could have against Osasuna. From there we can think about the other games."
Prediction: Barcelona wins 5-0.
Start Time: 2 p.m. EST
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