Lionel Messi

GOAL.COM

Barcelona coach, Tito Vilanova has been given a boost ahead of the Catalan Supercup match against Espanyol on July 31 as star player Lionel Messi resumed individual training after a brief layoff on the sidelines.

The Argentina international picked up a calf injury earlier this week, and consequently missed the Blaugrana's 2-1 friendly win over Hamburg on Tuesday. The 25-year-old appears to have shrugged off the knock, however, as he returned to the training ground on Wednesday evening, reports Goal.com.

Messi did not feature in the regular practice session, but the prolific attacker completed light exercises apart from the group without any noteworthy problems.

Meanwhile, veteran defender, Carles Puyol, who started training with the team on Monday after completing rehabilitation from knee surgery which ruled him out of Euro 2012, also trained apart from the group.