Barcelona midfielder not in training due to illness, injured star participated in group session

As Barcelona get set to fly to Saudi Arabia for the Spanish Super Cup later this week, they continued to train and prepare for the upcoming encounters in the Middle East today.

The Blaugrana are set to face CA Osasuna in the semi-finals of the tournament on January 11. Should they manage to get past Jagoba Arrasate’s men, a date with either Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid would await.

The current holders of the Super Cup, Barcelona would be eager to retain the trophy, which would serve as a major confidence booster for the team, given the recent rough patch they have been going through.

Training update

As the squad continues to prepare for the upcoming game against Osasuna, there were some absences and returns in the training session today, reports SPORT.

Indeed, as per the update, veteran Barcelona midfielder Ilkay Gundogan did not train today as he is down with an illness.

Gundogan has become an integral member of the team in his first season at Barcelona. Even though he is not in today’s morning training session, his presence for the trip to Saudi Arabia for the Super Cup is understood to be under no threat.

Meanwhile, in a big positive, SPORT also reports that injured midfielder Pedri did some training with the rest of the group today.

The 21-year-old midfield prodigy has been out injured since last month and his availability for the Super Cup has been under major doubt.

However, Pedri doing some light work with the rest of the group bodes well, as the Spaniard is eager to make it in time for the Super Cup.

The idea is that the midfielder will travel to Saudi with the hope that he can be fit for the final at least even if he is not ready to face Osasuna.

Meanwhile, Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Marcos Alonso are definitively ruled out of the Super Cup, along with Inigo Martinez, who got injured on his comeback in the 3-2 win over Barbastro last night.