Key Barcelona trio miss training ahead of Deportivo la Coruna match

Jordi Alba, Sergi Roberto and Jasper Cillessen all missed the Barcelona training session on Thursday (13 October) as Luis Enrique's side continued preparations for the Saturday's La Liga match with Deportivo la Coruna. However, Lionel Messi and Samuel Umtiti stepped up their rehabilitation, with the pair expected to see some gametime to gain match fitness ahead of Wednesday's Champions League encounter with Manchester City.

Alba pulled out of the Spanish national team with a muscle problem on 7 October, with Barcelona ruling him out for 10 days. Sergi Roberto joined his compatriot days later, picking up a muscle strain while training with the Spain squad.

The Barcelona duo are expected to be back for the Manchester City game, but the Deportivo encounter will presumably come to early for both, having missed the workout along with Cillessen.

The pair's absence is a blow for Luis Enrique, as they have been preferred in his backline to recent signing Lucas Digne and the out-of-favour Aleix Vidal.

Cillessen is set to miss both upcoming games, having suffered sprained ankle ligaments on international duty. However, his expected three-week absence is not a major concern for the boss as Marc-Andre ter Stegen was likely to be goalkeeper in both matches anyway.

All of Barcelona's players have now returned from their international commitments. Furthermore, Messi and Umtiti completed their second training sessions of the week following three weeks out.

Meanwhile, Barcelona confirmed that Javier Mascherano will put pen to paper on a new deal until 2019. The club already announced the agreement in July, but have delayed any official signing until now.

"FC Barcelona defender Javier Mascherano, long a key element in the team's unprecedented run of success, will have his contract extended for two more seasons beyond the one currently underway. The signing is set to take place on 17 October at 1.00pm CET at the club's offices," the club confirmed. "As the club previously announced, the extension will tie Mascherano to FC Barcelona until 30 June 2019."