Neither Leo Messi nor Ousmane Dembele took part in Barcelona training on Monday as attention turns to El Clasico.
Uncertainty remains over whether they will be fit enough to feature in that game, although the Argentine's absence was planned.
After being forced off early against Valencia on Saturday, Messi was rested on Monday but could return to training as early as Tuesday.
The session prior to the game will determine if he is fit enough to take part against Real Madrid and only then will Ernesto Valverde make a decision.
However, the situation with Dembele is a little more complicated and, although he was present at Barcelona's training ground on Monday, he did not join the group session.
Dembele suffered a sprain in the game against Leganes and hasn't trained for two weeks, while he also suffered a fever over the weekend.
prakashcr7
237
Barcelona fans be like :- No Messi no problem because we thrashed Real Madrid by 5-1 in camp now without messi. 😂😂😂
EminenceBASIT
72
Messi own is something less concern about because He can train on his own and get more fitness than group training. His absence in training is still better than Lukaku or Morata Hardworking.
Longlife2000
56
The Madrid-based newspaper Diario AS provide further news in regards to Dembele: even though he didn't finish the training session, it seems that his ankle injury has improved significantly. The Frenchman was sidelined with an ankle sprain for the last two weeks, however, the date of his return coincided with the unfortunate fever. The same source insists Dembele is determined to complete Tuesday's training session in order to feature in Wednesday's first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal against Real Madrid. He lost some weight because of fever, however, it doesn't seem to be a serious issue.