Will Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong be fit to play in second leg against Atlético?

The biggest news from Barcelona’s training session today will be Frenkie de Jong’s return to full work with the group after nearly a month and a half out. The Dutch midfielder, who injured the biceps femoris in his right leg during training in late February, could be one of the major new faces for Saturday’s derby. If the club decides to wait a few more days, he could instead return for Tuesday’s Champions League game against Atlético Madrid.

It is a comeback Hansi Flick has been eagerly awaiting, given that De Jong had become one of the cornerstones of his project. The plan is for him to potentially play a few minutes against Espanyol so he can be fully available by Tuesday, when Barcelona must try to overturn a 2-0 deficit at the Metropolitano.

Looking ahead to that decisive Champions League game, Cubarsí’s suspension would force Eric García into central defense alongside Gerard Martín, which would leave the defensive midfield spot to be contested by the Dutchman and Marc Bernal, who is also currently recovering from a minor ankle sprain.

The other major question now concerns Pedri, who did not return for the second half because of hamstring discomfort, as AS first reported. Medical tests will determine the extent of the issue, although everything points to it being a minor setback, one that would likely rule him out of Saturday’s game as a precaution.

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