Ousmane Dembele cleared for Barcelona trip to Celta Vigo as Lionel Messi returns to training

Ousmane Dembele is in line to make his long-awaited return to action when Barcelona visit Celta Vigo on Thursday night [4 January] after being given the green light by club doctors.

However, it is uncertain whether Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Javier Mascherano will feature in the first leg of the Copa del Rey last 16 as the South American trio only returned to training on Tuesday [2 January] evening following an extended Christmas break.

Dembele moved to the Nou Camp from Borussia Dortmund during the summer transfer window in a club-record deal worth €105m (£93m, $126m) plus €40m in add-ons.

However, the 20-year-old winger has only made three appearances for Barcelona after he suffered a serious muscle injury which required surgery during the Catalan's 2-1 victory over Getafe on 16 September.

There were some suggestions that the Frenchman could be back for El Clasico last month but Ernesto Valverde decided against risking his return and Dembele missed the impressive 3-0 win over Real Madrid.

Dembele has made the most of the Christmas break to step up his recovery and this week received the medical clearance to return to action in the upcoming Copa del Rey clash with Celta.

"The return of Ousmane Dembélé to the pitch is getting closer. In fact, on Tuesday he received medical discharge from the Club's Medical Services and, therefore, Ernesto Valverde can already count on him. The 20-year-old will be able to play again, three and a half months after the rupture of the tendon of the femoral biceps in his left thigh, an injury that occurred against Getafe on September 16," the club confirmed.

Elsewhere, Valverde also welcomed back Messi, Suarez and Mascherano to training after the trio were given special permission to extend their Christmas holiday.

The Catalans visit Vigo on Thursday before resuming their La Liga campaign with a home game against Levante on Sunday [7 January].

Valverde may thus rest Messi and Suarez at Celta after the pair missed the previous round of the Copa del Rey against Murcia when the Barcelona boss opted to deploy a line-up full of fringe players.

Carles Aleña and Jose Arnaiz could also be involved in the cup clash after the two players from the second team were promoted to first team training.

"Tuesday evening saw the opening training session of 2018, and the first one after the Christmas holidays with all players available after Leo Messi, Luis Suárez and Javier Mascherano all returned," Barcelona informed in the club website.

"Ernesto Valverde continued with the preparations for Thursday's game on the Tito Vilanova pitch at the Ciutat Esportiva. Barça B players Carles Aleñá and Jose Arnaiz also joined the group."