Belgian centre-back Thomas Vermaelen has returned to first-team training with Barcelona following hamstring surgery.

The 29-year-old has been plagued with injuries since joining Barcelona from Arsenal last summer and has still not made a single appearance for the Spanish club.

However, the experienced defender was present during a first-team session on Wednesday, fuelling suggestions that he will play before the end of the season.

Barcelona knew of Vermaelen's hamstring problem when he joined last summer, but it was initially thought that he would return in the latter part of 2014, before learning that surgery would be needed to correct the issue.