Iniesta and Messi back in Barcelona squad

Barcelona have been boosted by the return of Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi for their Champions League clash with Chelsea.

Published : Mar 14, 2018 01:22 IST

Andres Iniesta has been included in Barcelona's squad to face Chelsea in the Champions League, with star man Lionel Messi also recalled.

World Cup winner Iniesta had been struggling to recover from a hamstring injury in time to face the Blues in the last-16 second leg, with coach Ernesto Valverde conceding playing the veteran midfielder would be a risk.

But he has decided to include Iniesta in the group for Wednesday's match, where the 33-year-old could feature for the first time since suffering his ailment against Atletico Madrid in LaLiga on March 4.

Messi was also missing for the weekend win over Malaga as his wife gave birth to their third child Ciro, but he was expected back and also returns.

The pair combined for Messi to score an equaliser at Stamford Bridge in the first leg as Barca held Chelsea to a 1-1 draw.

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