Topics: Lionel Messi, Barcelona, Real Madrid, El Clasico 2015, El Clasico, La Liga
The Argentine ace met up with his fellow first-team buddies, as he fights to be fit in time for El Clasico.

Argentine superstar Lionel Messi has been working hard to be fit in time for El Clasico, which will be played out in the coming weekend at the Bernabeu.

Los Blancos will host the Blaugrana on Saturday, with the Catalan giants leading the home side by three points in the league standings.

Worry over whether La Pulga will take part in the highly-anticipated game was in overdrive, with the player last taking to the field in September.

However, the 28-year-old four-time Ballon d’Or winner trained with the reserve side on early Monday, before rejoining Luis Suarez and Co. in the first-team, with only four days remaining.

Another key player to also return to training after a spell on the sidelines was Croatian playmaker Ivan Rakitic.

Before getting to business, Barcelona performed a minute of silence out of respect for the victims of Friday’s terrorist attack on Paris. Watch the video below.


Leo Messi, Rakitic and Ter Stegen in training by fcbarcelona

Fans will be ecstatic to see their talisman striker back in training, having been away from football for almost 8 weeks with a knee injury picked up in the 2-1 win over Las Palmas on September 26.

The Albiceleste captain has missed 12 competitive matches since then, 9 with the Blaugrana and three with his national side, but his possible return will boost Barcelona’s chances of winning away to Los Blancos.

Team-mates Neymar and Suarez have fared well in the Argentine’s absence, as they lead the top scorers charts with 11 and 9 goals respectively.

However, with the most number of goals in El Clasico history at 21, none can deny the importance of Leo in clashes with Real Madrid.

Furthermore, the Barcelona number 10 has been involved in 8 of his side’s last 9 goals at the Bernabeu in all competitions, with 5 goals and 3 assists.