Barca will not rush Abidal

Barcelona sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta says the club will not rush Eric Abidal’s return to action after a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

The French defender underwent a liver transplant in April 2012, and has not featured for Barca since, but was recently declared fit to make a comeback.

“The aim of the process is for Abidal to play again. We don’t want to rush things. We’ll take things one step at a time,” Zubizarreta told the official Barcelona website.

“Life has its moments and situations and it’s a long and difficult road, so we always have to stand by him. We have come here together.”

Abidal resumed squad training again on Tuesday after spending a few days in hospital for routine checks.

Zubizarreta also revealed Barcelona are ready to open contract talks with promising youngsters Gerard Deulofeu and Rafinha.

“We’ll sit down with Deulofeu and talk about his staying on, the same goes for Rafinha,” he said.