Barcelona captain Iniesta misses training ahead of Catalan derby

Dom Farrell

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Barcelona captain Iniesta misses training ahead of Catalan derby image

Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta missed training due to injury ahead of Saturday's derby showdown with Espanyol.

Conte hints at Serie A return

Luis Enrique's men face their neighbours at Estadi Cornella-El Prat but could be without Iniesta after the 32-year-old sat out Friday's session with a right adductor problem.

Teenage midfielder Carles Alena trained with the first-team in Iniesta's absence.

Barcelona returned to the top of LaLiga by virtue of a superior head-to-head record over Real Madrid following last weekend's dramatic 3-2 Clasico win at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The reigning champions preserved their position at the summit by thrashing bottom side Osasuna 7-1 in midweek.

Iniesta sat out that rout as an unused substitute, while Alena replaced Lionel Messi for the final half hour.

Madrid later responded with a 6-2 triumph at Deportivo La Coruna and retain a game in hand on their rivals.

Madrid later responded with a 6-2 triumph at Deportivo La Coruna and retain a game in hand on their rivals.

Dom Farrell

Dom is the senior content producer for Sporting News UK. He previously worked as fan brands editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he built more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news agencies. Dom has covered major football events on location, including the entirety of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, along with numerous high-profile Premier League, Champions League and England international matches. Cricket and boxing are his other major sporting passions and he has covered the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from ringside.