Lamine Yamal practically ruled out of Barcelona’s UCL opener vs Newcastle United | OneFootball

FC Barcelona were dealt a major blow ahead of their La Liga game against Valencia as Hansi Flick confirmed Lamine Yamal will miss the match due to injury.

The 18-year-old wonderkid returned with discomfort from national team duty and did not take part in training today. Soon after, Flick announced in the press conference that the wonderkid will be unavailable tomorrow.

Lamine almost ruled out of Newcastle

Now, according to Javi Miguel of AS, Lamine Yamal is now ‘practically ruled out’ of the game against Newcastle United next week.

The report confirms that the La Masia prodigy returned from international duty with Spain carrying discomfort in his pubis after pushing himself in matches against Bulgaria and Turkey.

Having skipped team training all week to work in the gym, his pain has not eased, and the medical staff decided not to risk him vs Valencia.

Set to miss Newcastle United clash? (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

Now, his chances of featuring in Thursday’s UEFA Champions League opener against Newcastle at St. James’ Park are also extremely slim.

Flick must therefore rethink his starting XI, with Yamal having been the undisputed presence on the right flank last season.

One of the options is to put Raphinha on the right flank and utilise Marcus Rashford on the left. Meanwhile, summer signing Roony Bardghji, finally registered and available, could step in and potentially make his long-awaited debut.

Elsewhere, Frenkie de Jong will also miss the Valencia match but is expected back for the Newcastle trip, having already rejoined group training on Saturday.

Marc Bernal, meanwhile, has received medical clearance after a year-long absence. Gavi, Alejandro Balde, and Marc-Andre ter Stegen remain unavailable.