Barcelona defender Gabriel Militois set to be available for selection after recovering from a cruciate ligament injury.

According to Sport, Milito has been out of action for  18 months due to a cruciate ligament injury in his right knee,

Milito last played for Barcelona in their UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg game against Manchester United at Old Trafford. It was during that game that the 29-year-old Argentinian suffered the injury.

The defender has started light training for the first time as he continues his recovery.

It is understood that there is no specific date for a scheduled return for Milito as club doctors do not want to rush him back and run the risk of a recurrence of the injury.

Barca coach Pep Guardiola is hoping he can count on the defender soon but the likelihood is that his reintroduction to the side will be phased in a similar vein to Andres Iniesta's return and he isn't expected to return to action until the end of the year.

"Things are getting better, now he just needs to participate in a game, but he has been training in tactics and positioning, hopefully we can put in a call soon," Guardiola stated at a press conference on Monday.