Five injured Barcelona stars in group training ahead of Real Madrid encounter

As Barcelona get set to take on Real Madrid in the first El Clasico of the season, they may have received a major boost on the injury front.

All the talk building up to the big game has been about the number of absentees that Barça are having to deal with due to injuries.

Sergi Roberto, Jules Kounde, Frenkie de Jong, Pedri, Robert Lewandowski, and Raphinha have all been dealing with physical ailments, creating doubts over their availability to face Real Madrid.

Five players return to group training

Now, Adria Albets is reporting that as many as five of the aforementioned players are training with the rest of the group today as Barcelona get set to face Real Madrid.

Indeed, as per the report, Raphinha, Lewandowski, de Jong, Pedri, and even Kounde have joined the group training session today, although it is still unclear whether they are in a position to be available for the game.

Raphinha had already did part of the group training session yesterday and is very well-placed to make it to the squad list for the encounter.

Reports overnight indicated that both Lewandowski and De Jong will also make it, with the former said to be likely to start.

Now, both the key striker and the midfielder have joined the group training sessions, as have Kounde and Pedri, who were understood to be ruled out definitively.

However, it remains to be seen who among the quintet are in shape to feature against Real Madrid in the potential top-of-the-table encounter.