De Jong defies expectations: good news for Flick in Barcelona training

Barcelona's first team returned to training on Monday morning at the Joan Gamper Sports City.

According to the newspaper "Mundo Deportivo", the handful of players left behind by international duty got back to work despite the heavy rain.

Frenkie de Jong had been expected to join the rest of the squad on the pitch. He went out into the rain but trained alone, working through individual sessions. Joan García and Raphinha did the same.

Out together at the Camp Tito Vilanova were Szczesny, Gavi, Eric García, Gerard Martín, Gabriel Jesus, Bryan and Baldé. Hansi Flick took charge, counting down the days left for his players to recover ahead of Saturday's league clash with Getafe at the Spotify Camp Nou on 10 October.

Eric's return to group training is especially welcome. He missed the Spain squad after feeling discomfort in his knee while warming up for the first UEFA Nations League qualifier at Wembley against England.