Puyol, Alves return from injury

Dani Alves and Carles Puyol have been included in Barcelona’s squad to face Valencia in La Liga on Sunday.

The defenders missed the Blaugrana’s 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid in the Spanish Supercopa on Wednesday, as Tito Vilanova’s side lost the tie on away goals.

Alves, who was sidelined due to an edema in the femoral biceps in his right leg, has trained with the first-team on Saturday, ahead of the meeting with Valencia.

Meanwhile, club captain Puyol – who has been nursing a cheekbone injury sustained in the victory over Osasuna last weekend – has also returned to training but is likely to start from the bench.

Vilanova will have a full squad to pick from, having been dealt a further boost as Thiago Alcantara returns from a tibia injury which has sidelined him for much of pre-season.