Puyol in Barcelona squad for Real Madrid match

BARCELONA, Spain (AP)—Barcelona defender Carles Puyol could play for the first time since January after being included in the squad for Saturday’s Spanish league match at Real Madrid.

Puyol hasn’t played for the two-time defending Spanish champions since Jan. 22 due to a left knee injury. Coach Pep Guardiola has used defensive midfielders Sergio Busquets and Javier Mascherano to plug the gap with defender Eric Abidal missing after liver tumor surgery.

A surprised Guardiola says: “He’ll travel with us and tomorrow we’ll decide” if he plays. “It’s a question of seeing how he progresses but the last three or four days the pain has gone away.”

The 33-year-old Puyol is been a regular for World Cup champion Spain and Barcelona, which holds an eight-point lead over Madrid atop the table.