Espanyol have been forced to send eight senior players home from training after gastroenteritis spread throughout the squad.

Left-back Victor Alvarez was first to experience symptoms of the illness, which include vomiting and diarrhoea, on Monday but by this morning it had also affected Victor Sanchez, Burgui, Asensio, Hernan Perez Moreno, Gerard Abraham and Alvaro Gonzalez.

Medical staff ordered all of the players to return home and rest ahead of Thursday night's encounter with Real Betis at the Estadi Cornella-El Prat.

A statement on Espanyol's website confirmed: "We will have to wait and see how they react, 48 hours from the start of the match against Betis on Thursday."

Following a winless run of eight games, the Barcelona side have notched up back-to-back victories to lift them to 13th in La Liga.