Barcelona edged closer to full strength on Monday, welcoming back two eagerly awaited faces at the Joan Gamper Sports City. Yet fresh worry lingered over one of their most important stars.
According to the Spanish newspaper "Sport", midfielder Rodri completed his first full session with the group, taking his first official step towards a Barcelona debut.
That moves the Spain midfielder closer to featuring against Athletic Bilbao in La Liga.
Rodri worked with the group that carried out the more intensive training, while the players who logged longer minutes against Elche stuck to their usual post-match recovery.
Having arrived a week ago, Rodri was officially presented last Tuesday, and his first contact with the team came during the Joan Gamper Cup match, though he was not ready to play.
He has since followed a special rehabilitation programme to regain his fitness after his holiday. Despite being the club's first signing registered with the Liga association, he missed out on the squad for the opening match against Elche.
Rodri was not the only surprise on the training pitch. Left-back Alejandro Balde also returned to normal training with his teammates after his shock omission from the Elche squad.
Flick had explained afterwards that he spoke with the player once he noticed something was wrong, flatly denying that Balde had asked to leave the club.
Anxiety, meanwhile, gripped the club as it waited for the latest on Gavi. The midfielder limped out of the Elche match in pain after a heavy challenge on the knee, and he sat out Monday's rehabilitation session.
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Barcelona confirmed they would not release the results of the medical tests unless an injury was confirmed. Flick offered fans some comfort, saying the initial checks came back better than first feared.