Lionel Messi returns to training

Barcelona star Lionel Messi has returned to training with Barcelona as he nears his return from injury.


The Argentine damaged his hamstring after firing his national team to victory over Uruguay, forcing him to drop out of the squad ahead of their meeting with Venezuela.

The Barca star insisted that his recovery was going well  and took a step towards his return to first-team action by taking part in training on Wednesday.

Messi participated in the first part of the session with the rest of the team before doing some specific exercises.

 Meanwhile, Andres Iniesta is hoping to make his return against Alaves this weekend after a month on the sidelines with a knee injury.

The 32-year-old has not featured for Luis Enrique's side since last month's Supercopa de Espana first-leg win over Sevilla due to a strained right knee.

Iniesta had spoken positively about his rehabilitation earlier this week and he now hopes to prove his fitness to enable him to feature at Camp Nou.

"I started to do things with the ball this week, but we will have to see how it reacts," he is quoted as saying by AS.

"Right now I cannot say because I have not trained with the team. I am optimistic because the knee is responding well.

"When you're out of the team you want to play, but the feelings have to be good and must have some patience."