Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain, 20 April 2015 | tennis.com.au

Australia’s Nick Kyrgios will return to action this week at the ATP Barcelona Open as he begins his claycourt preparation ahead of next month’s French Open.

Kyrgios will be joined at the ATP 500-level event by compatriot Marinko Matosevic.

Kyrgios, the tournament’s 16th seed, receives a first round bye, and in the second round will take on the winner of the match between Dutch qualifier Thiemo De Bakker and Swedish wildcard Elias Ymer.

Nice to get my first seeding in an @ATPWorldTour event. #Progress

— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) April 17, 2015

Looming as a potential third round opponent is No.3 seed David Ferrer.

Matosevic opens against Spaniard Marcel Granollers, with the winner booking a second-round date with sixth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Kyrgios is playing just his fourth event in 2015, and his first since falling in three sets in the first round at Indian Wells to Grigor Dimitrov.

In that match he wrenched his ankle, an injury which prompted him to skip Masters events in Miami and Monte Carlo.

The teenager has also been forced to contend with a back injury this season, which hampered his Australian Open lead-up and forced his withdrawal from Australia’s Davis Cup tie against the Czechs in March.