FC Barcelona and Argentina captain Lionel Messi returned to training earlier than expected with the Spanish La Liga giants on Wednesday as the forward continues his recovery from an arm injury.
The injury has so far kept him out of the team’s wins against Inter Milan and Real Madrid last week.
Messi was set to miss three weeks after breaking a bone in his right arm on Oct. 20 during a match against Sevilla.
But reports in Spain have now suggested that Messi may be available for first-team action quicker than forecast.
Messi, not included in the squad for Wednesday’s Copa del Rey game at Cultural Leonesa, is unlikely to feature on Saturday in the La Liga match against Rayo Vallecano.
FC Barcelona face Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League on Nov. 9, and they then play Real Betis in La Liga on Nov. 11.
They beat Inter 2-0 at the Nou Camp without Messi last week to go top of their UEFA Champions League Group B.
They went on to thrash Real Madrid 5-1 on Sunday to go first in La Liga.
