Five members of Xavi Hernández’s Barcelona squad remained absent from first-team training on Thursday.
Barca, of course, are currently in the process of putting the finishing touches on preparations for the club’s return to action this weekend.
Fresh off a disheartening 3-3 draw with relegation-battling Granada last time out, the Blaugrana are primed to make the trip to Celta Vigo, desperate for a return to winning ways.
Their efforts towards as much, however, look set to come sans the services of no fewer than five members of Xavi’s ranks.
That’s according to Mundo Deportivo, who have today provided an insight into the latest developments at The Ciutat Esportiva.
As expected, nowhere to be seen on Thursday were the trio of Marcos Alonso, João Félix, and Ferran Torres, all of whom remain sidelined at present owing to injury.
More surprising, though, were the absences of Sergi Roberto, and Oriol Romeu.
Both Roberto and Romeu have also been struggling for fitness of late, but were expected to have marked their respective returns to training by this point in the week.
As such, the midfield pair are viewed as major doubts to feature against Celta on Saturday evening.
On the other hand, present alongside Barcelona’s senior stars on Thursday were a whole host of youth team talents, namely:
Diego Kochen, Pau Cubarsí, Héctor Fort, Marc Guiu, Marc Casadó, Pau Víctor, Mikayil Faye, Mamadou Mbacke, Unai, Gerard Martín, and Sergi Domínguez.
Conor Laird | GSFN
