Lamine Yamal could miss Newcastle clash as Barcelona boss Hansi Flick slams Spain

Barcelona start their Champions League campaign with a trip to Newcastle on Thursday and despite playing for Spain twice during the international break, Lamine Yamal is a doubt

Barcelona superstar Lamine Yamal could miss Thursday’s mouth-watering Champions League clash with Newcastle – and Hansi Flick is furious. Barca say that Yamal, 18, is having trouble in the ‘pubic area’ and won’t face Valencia on Sunday.

The wonderkid started both of Spain’s games during the international break, playing more than 70 minutes in each. But it turns out that Yamal was taking painkillers in order to play, despite the European champions being heavy favourites in both fixtures, which he didn’t train between.

Barcelona released a statement on Yamal after Flick’s pre-match press conference, during which he expressed his frustration with the Spanish national team. “Lamine goes to the national team with pain, didn’t train, had painkillers to play, they were three goals ahead in every match, and he played 79 and 73 minutes,” Flick told reporters.

“Between the matches he didn’t train. This is not taking care of players. Spain have the best team in the world, in every position they are unbelievably good. I am really sad about this [situation].”

Flick, who has experience as a national team manager, admitted that his lack of communication with Spain boss Luis de la Fuente was a ‘problem’. “I never really spoke with him (De la Fuente),” the former Germany manager added. “Maybe my Spanish is not good, his English is not good, so this is a problem.

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“Normally, the communication, because we have more players there than just Lamine, could be better. I was also on this side as a national team coach, so I know how hard this job sometimes is, but the communication with the clubs was always good.”

Barca will also be without Frenkie de Jong against Valencia, as the Dutch midfielder picked up an injury during the Netherlands’ 1-1 draw with Poland last week. Gavi and Alejandro Balde are also still injured, further limiting Flick’s options.

It’s not all bad news on the injury front. Young midfielder Marc Bernal will be on the bench after more than a year out with an ACL injury.

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“De Jong won’t be back tomorrow, but Marc will,” Flick confirmed. “He won’t be in the starting line-up. His next step in returning is to get better and better prepared. Tomorrow there will be all the excitement of being back with the team, and we have to manage that.”

Sunday’s La Liga fixture was due to mark the long-awaited reopening of the Camp Nou, which is currently being renovated for £1.25billion. But frequent delays have forced Barcelona to move the fixture to a 6,000-seater stadium next to their training ground, the Estadi Johan Cruyff.

Barca played their first three games of the season away from home. Flick’s side started with back-to-back wins before a 1-1 draw with Rayo Vallecano. The Spanish champions are five points behind arch rivals Real Madrid, although they’ve played one game fewer. They’ll start their Champions League campaign at St James’ Park on Thursday.

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