Barcelona have received a huge boost ahead of the first Clasico of the season after head coach Luis Enrique revealed Andres Iniesta is ready to return to first-team action against Real Madrid on Saturday.
Iniesta, 32, hasn’t featured since suffering knee ligament damage in Barcelona’s 3-2 win over Valencia on October 22 and his recovery time was initially set as two months.
However, the Spain international has returned earlier than expected and has been back in training with his Barcelona teammates since the end of last week, with Enrique declaring him as ready to play in the Clasico on Saturday.
“Andres is waiting to be given the all clear by the doctors but this is just a formality,” The Daily Mail quote Enrique as saying. “He is fit and he has been training with us. He is available for selection [on Saturday].
Before attentions can be turned to their clash with Madrid, Barcelona must first overcome must first overcome Hercules in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday.
Enrique also revealed he would have liked to have given Iniesta some game time against the Spanish third-tier side, only for the Barcelona captain to be ruled out through suspension.
“Andres is not playing tomorrow because he is banned but had he been available, he would have had minutes,” Enrique added.
Barcelona have missed Iniesta’s presence in midfield since he was injured. In fact, the reigning La Liga champions have only managed three wins from the six matches he has been sidelined for.
For more stats on Andres Iniesta, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
