Big announcement from Barcelona this afternoon as captain Carles Puyol has been declared fit by the medical staff and will be amongst the 20 players traveling to Madrid for tomorrow's match.
Real Madrid Vs. Barcelona 2011, El Clasico: Carles Puyol Recovers From Injury, Traveling With Team
Puyol last played on January 22nd in Barcelona's 3-0 victory over Racing Santander at the Camp Nou. He left the match at halftime and was later diagnosed with tendon damage in his left knee. In the 17 matches without Puyol, Pep Guardiola has had to mix and match to fill the gap in the central defense and Puyol's return comes at a vital time with defender Eric Abidal still recovering from the removal of a liver tumor.
Guardiola was surprised, but pleased with Puyol’s sooner than expected recovery.
“He’ll travel with us and tomorrow we’ll decide if he plays,” Guardiola said. “It’s a question of seeing how he progresses but the last three or four days the pain has gone away.”
According to the report from the official club website, Puyol was able to train normally with the team today and was given the all-clear by team doctors afterwards. It’s a huge boost for Barcelona and no doubt a nice belated birthday present for Puyol who turned 33 just two days ago.
It remains to be see if Puyol will be included in Guardiola’s 18-man roster tomorrow, but even if the captain doesn’t make the field or the bench, you can expect he will factor in to the remaining three El Clasico matches ahead.
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