Barcelona captain resumes group training, defender absent ahead of Atletico Madrid clash

Barcelona began their final preparations for Tuesday’s La Liga clash against Atletico Madrid by kicking off their last training session at 11.00 this morning at the Ciutat Esportiva.

The Blaugrana host Atleti at the Spotify Camp Nou tomorrow in a match that was moved from January due to the team’s involvement in the Spanish Super Cup.

Ter Stegen returns

And the biggest headline from the session this morning was the return of Barcelona captain Marc-Andre ter Stegen to group training.

Indeed, as per SPORT, the 33-year-old veteran goalkeeper has finally been able to complete a session with the team after many months out.

Ter Stegen has been sidelined since the summer after undergoing back surgery. The German international’s recovery has progressed very well.

It has allowed the shot-stopper to return to training at the Camp Tito Vilanova pitch alongside his teammates with full normality, although he will not be rushed back to action against Atletico Madrid.

No Ronald Araujo

Araujo not training with the squad. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

Another notable development from today’s training session was that Ronald Araujo did not work with the rest of the group again.

After missing the weekend game vs Alaves due to a stomach virus, the Uruguayan international continues to suffer light discomfort, and as such, he was not involved in training today even though he was present at the Ciutat Esportiva.

As such, it appears likely that he will miss the game against Los Rojiblancos tomorrow.

Meanwhile, youth players Dro and Tommy Marques were also present and trained without problems, and they appear to be candidates for the squad list.

Frenkie de Jong also returned to the session without issue. The Dutch midfielder missed the previous match for personal reasons but had already rejoined training normally in the recovery session following the win over Alaves.