Barcelona will have no option but to watch the teenager Lamine Yamal flashing his brilliance from the sidelines as Hansi Flick has confirmed his unavailability for the match against Valencia on Sunday in La Liga.
Youngster of 18 years returned from his international duty with a hurting groin and hence was not called in for a first-team training session. Barça released a press release concerning his absence, while Flick was quite vocal about Spain’s handling of him during the international break.
“He’s not coming with us,” said Flick. “He was in pain already when he left but they gave him a painkiller so he could play. Spain were winning both matches by three goals so they could have left him out, but he still played over 70 minutes in each of them. He didn’t train between matches. That’s not taking care of the player, and I’m really sad about it.”
There is no date for Yamal’s recuperation. The striker has been a sensation in the first part of the season, scoring and assisting once in three league matches, while also providing three assists for Spain in victories over Bulgaria and Turkey.
Marcus Rashford, Raphinha, and Ferran Torres are the options that Flick has in mind to replace the injured player. It will be the Estadi Johan Cruyff that hosts the game because of the ongoing renovations at the Camp Nou and a concert at the Olímpic Lluís Companys.
