Barcelona captain Carles Puyol will reportedly return to first-team action for the Catalan outfit against Osasuna on October 19.

The 35-year-old centre-back has not played for the Spanish champions since undergoing knee surgery in March, but it had been expected that he would return for the start of the new season.

That was not the case as he underwent a second procedure to remove a cyst in pre-season, but according to reports in Spain, the defender is nearing a return.

Should the Spanish international return on October 19, then it will have been 222 days since his last appearance for Barcelona.