Barcelona News: Lionel Messi and Ousmane Dembele return to the squad for Inter Milan game

Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi

What's the story?

Lionel Messi and Ousmane Dembele have been declared fit, ahead of Barcelona's crucial Champions League fixture against Inter Milan at the Camp Nou tonight.

In case you didn't know...

Barcelona captain Messi has made just three appearances in all competitions for the Catalan giants this season after an injury during pre-season made the forward miss his side's opening two La Liga games.

The Argentine was once again out injured on his first start of the campaign after an adductor problem caused Ernesto Valverde to substitute Messi at half time against Villarreal last week.

It has been a similar story for French international Dembele. The winger has been restricted to just two La Liga appearances this season, owing to a hamstring injury.

Dembele's injury history since his move to the Camp Nou from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2017 is a matter of concern for the Spanish giants.

The heart of the matter

Barcelona will be boosted by the return of the duo of Messi and Dembele to their squad for their crucial Champions League contest against Inter Milan tonight. Barcelona officially released their 20-man squad for the game against the Italian giants at the Camp Nou, with Messi and Dembele making the cut.

While Messi and Dembele are likely to be on the bench, Alba is expected to be back in the starting lineup.

What's next

Barcelona, who beat Getafe 2-0 in La Liga last weekend, will be hoping to win their first Champions League game of the season tonight. The Spanish champions played out a goalless draw against Dortmund in their opening match. Inter Milan too failed to win their first match in the Champions League as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Slavia Prague.

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Edited by Samya Majumdar