Barca's Iniesta nears return from injury ahead of Clasico

BARCELONA ( Reuters) - Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta returned to training on Friday ahead of schedule after almost a month out of action with a knee injury, the club said.

The Spain international sustained knee ligament damage during Barca's 3-2 league win over Valencia on Oct. 22.

Iniesta was expected to be out for up to eight weeks but the 32-year-old midfielder joined his team mates in practice ahead of Sunday's La Liga game at Real Sociedad.

Turkish midfielder Arda Turan missed Friday's session with a fever while right back Aleix Vidal was absent due to personal reasons.

Barca are second in La Liga and four points adrift of Real Madrid, whom they face in the first Clasico of the season on Dec. 3 at the Nou Camp.

(Reporting by Adriana Garcia, editing by Ed Osmond)