LIONEL MESSI IS CURRENTLY THE ONLY RECOGNISED STRIKER AVAILABLE-Luis Enrique Luis Enrique has some big decisions to make in the attacking department ahead of the season opener against Elche on Sunday. Lionel Messi is currently the only recognised striker available. The most recent casualty is Neymar, who suffered a grade 1 ankle sprain in training on Thursday. The Brazilian has not been completely ruled out just yet, but it seems unlikely that he will be able to recover in so little time. There are also doubts hanging over Pedro Rodríguez, who has been unable to train with the team all week because of a stomach virus. The Spaniard did take to the training pitch on Friday, but did not train alongside his teammates. If he does appear on the team sheet, which remains a possibility, he will not be 100%. With Luis Suárez suspended, Enrique will have to look into alternative attacking options. Andrés Iniesta could be deployed as a winger or Rafinha Alcántara might play down the right, as occurred in the Gamper Trophy on Monday against Mexican outfit León. A potentially riskier option would be handing Munir his debut. The youth-team product was sensational in pre-season and enjoyed a rich vein of form which included a brace in the second half of Mondays match. The 18-year-old has been training with the first team all week long and it is clear that he will be included in the squad given the players who are currently unavailable. Sandro and Sergi Samper are also staking a claim for selection, having trained with the first team on Friday.
Posted on: Sat, 23 Aug 2014 10:02:56 +0000
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