Barcelona squad depth gives returning Messi, Neymar, Suarez chance for rest

Posted Friday, September 09, 2016 by ESPN

For the first time this season, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar will all train with their Barcelona teammates on Friday. The trio could feature when Alaves visit the Camp Nou on Saturday, too, but Luis Enrique has the chance to show that he's the boss at Barca by tapping into the depth that has been added to his squad over the summer.

In this modern world where players often yield more power than their managers, it can't be easy to tell certain characters to take a breather. Messi, Suarez and Neymar are unlikely to be easily sold on the idea of a rest. After all, this is a trio that has scored 255 goals in 302 combined appearances over the last two seasons. If they are fit, they invariably play. If they play, they almost definitely score.

Besides, the time for resting players is in the second half of the season, not September. Or is it? There is a strong case to be made that all three should be carefully managed this weekend as Barca try to make it three wins out of three in La Liga.

Messi should almost certainly be left out. If his name was Jeremy Mathieu he definitely would be. The 29-year-old headed off on international duty with a groin injury and -- surprise, surprise -- he came back with a groin injury. After scoring Argentina's winner against Uruguay, the decision was taken for him to return to Barcelona early, where he's been recovering this week. He has yet to complete a full training session, though.

Meanwhile, it was finally time for Neymar to return to work on Thursday. After spending the summer in Ibiza and the United States before helping Brazil win an Olympic gold medal, he's back in the Catalan capital and ready to take to the pitch vs. Alaves. He will only train with his teammates twice before Saturday's match and has just completed two games for his national side and a long haul flight from South America to Europe, but he expects to play nonetheless.

It's a similar story regarding Suarez, who returns to training after Uruguay duty on Friday. Suarez will take part in just one session before the clash against the newly-promoted Basque side. In a sport where the minute details have become so key, it's hardly ideal preparation.

There's also last season to consider. Barca won the league and the cup but the Champions League defeat to Atletico Madrid still hurts. It was a slump in April that saw them dumped out of Europe and a large part of that, at the time, did seem to boil down to fatigue. Certain members of the front three looked particularly burnt out and it was perhaps no surprise Suarez went on to pick up an injury in the Copa del Rey final. Luis Enrique will be keen to avoid a repeat of that late-season slumber this time around.

Where does each member of Barcelona's star trio rank among the globe's best forwards?

Besides, if one excuse was that the depth wasn't there, it's supposed to be there now. The Blaugrana made six summer signings, spending more than €120 million to rejuvenate the squad and add the numbers needed to facilitate rotations throughout the campaign.

Arda Turan has been filling in for Neymar and has had his best spell since his 2015 transfer from Atletico. Elsewhere, €30m has been invested in Paco Alcacer, who was presented on Thursday, primarily for moments like this: to have Suarez's back after international breaks, through injured and suspension. Rafinha and Denis Suarez, meanwhile, are among the candidates who could fill in for an injured Messi.

So, all the pieces are in place for Barcelona to be able to manage their golden trio's game time. It's up to Luis Enrique to make the moves. While Alaves should not be underestimated -- they drew at Atletico on the opening day of the season and are still unbeaten on their return to the top flight -- the Barca manager has to decide what's best for his team and Messi, Neymar and Suarez. If that means leaving out one, two or all three of them, then so be it.