Barcelona captain Carles Puyol has been cleared to make his return to action against Osasuna on Saturday after a seven-month absence following two knee operations.
The 35-year-old missed the final few months of last season after first going under the knife in March and his comeback was delayed by a second operation to remove a cyst from the same knee in June.
The Spanish international has been back training with his teammates for a number of weeks and his return to the squad is a welcome boost for Gerardo Martino with Barca facing seven games in the next 23 days.
Lionel Messi and Javier Mascherano have also been passed fit after overcoming the muscular injuries that kept them out of Argentina's final two World Cup qualifiers last week.
However, Gerard Pique, Alexis Sanchez and Dani Alves have all been left out of Martino's 18-man squad for the trip to Pamplona after playing twice for their national sides in the past week.
Source: AFP
