Barcelona will be without Luis Suarez for their Champions League clash at home to Slavia Prague on Tuesday night, but Ousmane Dembele could feature.
Suarez suffered a calf injury in Barca’s 3-1 loss at Levante on Saturday and was expected to be out for three weeks.
That injury is not as serious as first thought and coach Ernesto Valverde said on Monday that the Uruguay striker could be back in time for the league game against Celta Vigo at the weekend.
Tuesday’s meeting with Slavia is likely to come too soon for the 32-year-old, however, and he could be replaced in the starting XI by Dembele.
The French forward was surprisingly left out of the squad for the Levante game, despite being available again after a two-match ban.
Asked after the game about the winger’s absence, Valverde said it was a “technical decision”.
Reports in France claimed the 22-year-old was in fact left out due to a slight hamstring strain, but he trained normally on Monday and could start alongside Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann against Slavia.
In midfield, Arthur is a surprise exclusion from the squad and his place in the starting line-up could go to Arturo Vidal.
Meanwhile, Jordi Alba is fit again after a knock and should start at left-back, with Nelson Semedo set to feature on the right after he was chosen to speak to the media on Monday.
Centre-back Samuel Umtiti has been included in the squad but is unlikely to start after recovering from a bruised knee.
Barcelona possible XI: Ter Stegen; Semedo, Pique, Lenglet, Alba; Busquets, De Jong, Vidal; Messi, Griezmann, Dembele
Slavia Prague possible XI: Kolar; Coufal, Kudela, Frydrych, Boril; Sevcik, Soucek, Zeleny; Stanciu; Olayinka, Masopust
