Madrid: Neymar has recovered from a sprained ankle, Barcelona’s medical team said on Friday, and the Brazilian could feature in La Liga at the weekend as well as Tuesday’s Champions League clash against Manchester City.
Injured last month in a Copa del Rey game against Getafe, the Brazilian began training earlier this week and is available for selection against Rayo Vallecano on Saturday.
The 22-year-old has missed a total of eight games through injury, but Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino said at a press conference on Friday that he is ready for first-team action again.
“He has trained very well and recovered very well as we have seen in training,” he said.
“Obviously, it remains to be seen how he responds on the pitch.”
A final decision on his participation will be taken on Saturday for the game against second-bottom Rayo at the Camp Nou.
His return should boost Barcelona, who are top of La Liga, as they enter a crucial phase of the season.
Martino said Saturday’s clash against the side from Madrid would be a “very difficult match which we have to win to remain top of the league”.
Barcelona head La Liga, but going into this weekend’s round of fixtures they are tied on 57 points with arch-rivals Real Madrid as well as Atletico Madrid.
Barcelona face City in England on Tuesday, February 18, in the first leg of the last 16 of the Champions League.
Neymar has scored six times in La Liga since his controversial transfer from Santos last summer, which is being investigated for irregularities by the Brazilian and Spanish authorities.
Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid are the first of the three title contenders in action as they host Valladolid earlier on Saturday.
A 2-0 defeat to Real Madrid in the Cup on Tuesday made it three consecutive defeats for Diego Simeone’s men, having previously lost just twice in 36 games this season.
The Argentine has admitted that tiredness may be beginning to affect his stretched squad and continued to play down any expectations they can last the pace with Madrid and Barcelona until the end of the campaign.
“I am not worried by the defeats, eight days ago we were top of the league,” he told Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport.
“All teams, sooner or later, will go through a bad moment. We will have to see how we respond to this. If one looks at a league of 38 games, it is impossible to think that we could compete with Real Madrid or Barcelona. They have the quality that makes the difference in the long run.”
Real Madrid, meanwhile, will once again be without the suspended Cristiano Ronaldo when they travel across the Spanish capital to take on Getafe on Sunday.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side are in fine form having won 13 of their last 14 games in all competitions and will be heavy favourites for another three points against a Getafe side that hasn’t won since November.
Other than Ronaldo and long-term injury absentee Sami Khedira, Ancelotti has a full squad to choose from so Gareth Bale is likely to continue in attack alongside Karim Benzema and Jese Rodriguez.
