BARCELONA - Barcelona trained on Friday for
the first time in nearly two months as the team held their first
individual session as part of the league's four-phase plan to
return to action after measures to halt the coronavirus were
eased.
Barca tested all their players for Covid-19 on Wednesday and
captain Lionel Messi was among those seen out on the Joan Gamper
training complex conducting individual dribbling and running
exercises.
All players trained with the exception of Ousmane Dembele,
who is recovering from a hamstring injury and is not registered
to play for the rest of the season due to Barca signing Martin
Braithwaite in February.
Individual training is the second phase of La Liga's
detailed protocol for returning to activity designed to avoid
players being infected with the virus.
Players will start training in small groups within the next
two weeks and progress to full training before resuming matches,
which La Liga says it hopes to start up again by June although
it has yet to confirm dates for fixtures.
Barca lead the standings with 11 matches remaining and hold
a two-point lead over Real Madrid, who are due to begin training
on Monday.