Barcelona boss Hansi Flick makes major Lamine Yamal injury admission

Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick has confirmed that Lamine Yamal will not be playing against Valencia this weekend and is a doubt for the Champions League match against Newcastle on Thursday.

Despite participating in both of Spain's World Cup qualifiers during the international break, the 18-year-old has not trained since returning to the Catalan club. Flick also stated that Yamal did not train between those two matches.

They faced Bulgaria in Sofia on Thursday, where the forward assisted their third goal seven minutes before half-time. However, despite a 3-0 lead, Yamal wasn't substituted until the 79th minute.

Spain then travelled to Turkiye, with the winger assisting their fourth and fifth goals before the hour mark. Pedri extended the lead to 6-0 shortly after, but Yamal stayed on until the 73rd minute.

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During a press conference on Saturday afternoon, Flick discussed the player's availability. "It's a pity because he goes to the national team with some pain. He did not train with the national team; he took painkillers to play," revealed the Barca boss.

"They scored three [or more] goals in every match. After the Bulgaria game, in between matches, he did not train again; this is not taking care of the players.

"Spain have the best team in the world. The best players in every position, unbelievably good. Maybe when we talk about taking care of young players, it's things like that. I'm really sad about this [situation]."

Frenkie De Jong is set to miss the clash against Valencia due to a minor injury in his right leg, sustained while playing for the Netherlands, which forced him off in the 83rd minute of their 1-1 draw with Poland. Alejandro Balde and Gavi continue to be on the injury list; however, Marc Bernal returns to the matchday squad for the first time since August last year.