Barcelona Frenchman recovering quickly

With the Clasico on the horizon, Ernesto Valverde has renewed hope that he will be able to utilise the talents of Ousmane Dembele sooner rather than later, as the Frenchman hasn't been totally ruled out of the match on December 23.

The good news doesn't end there for the former Athletic Club coach, Rafinha Alcantara has also stepped up his recovery process after returning to senior training, although he isn't thought to be in contention to face Real Madrid.

In the case of the former Borussia Dortmund forward, after breaking the tendon of the femoral biceps in September, his rate of recovery has been astounding.

Initially he was pencilled in for a return in 2018; however this date has been perennially pushed forward with there now real hope that he will represent the Blaugrana again before the turn of the year.

He is training without any difficulty or special measures, returning to take part in full contact sessions and concerns over a setback are minimal.

Rafinha's last round of surgery came in early October, yet he has been on the sideline since April due to various knee ailments.

The Brazilian remains the only member of the club's senior squad that has not yet played a single minute of football under the new coach.

Javier Mascherano remains absent for the game against Deportivo La Coruna through a calf injury, with Thursday marking a month since he last trained with the group.

It's still unclear whether he will ever play for Los Cules again given the speculation surrounding a January transfer.