Messi and Umtiti train with Barcelona squad

After slowly getting back to training in recent days, Lionel Messi and Samuel Umtiti have now reintegrated with the Barcelona  squad and are edging closer to a return to action.

The duo joined in with full training on Friday ahead of the team's clash with Rayo Vallecano on Saturday.

It is still unclear when the Frenchman will return although he has been upbeat on social media recently and the World Cup winner's optimism is shared by the Barcelona medical staff.

Meanwhile, Messi is close to being given the green light to play again.

In theory, the Argentine was expected to be out of action for another week, but on Friday he trained without issues.

It's not unthinkable that he could feature in a match before the international break.

The other point of note at Friday's session was the presence of Chumi, who is expected to make the squad against Rayo considering the absences of Thomas Vermaelen and Umtiti.