Lamine Yamal sidelined after playing for national team while injured, Flick reveals | OneFootball

Hansi Flick has revealed that Lamine Yamal will be absent from Barcelona’s squad that is preparing to face Valencia on Sunday, with the youngster sidelined through a groin injury.

“He went to the national team with pain and didn’t train. They gave him painkillers to play. They had at least a three-goal lead in each game, and he played 73 and 79 minutes. Between the games, he couldn’t train. That isn’t looking after the player,” Flick berated, adding that he is “very sad about this” and revealing that “he’ll be a doubt” for the upcoming UEFA Champions League opener against Newcastle United.

While Frenkie de Jong and Gavi will also be sidelined for Sunday’s clash, i’s not all bad news for the German head coach, who welcomes Marc Bernal back into the squad more than a year after his ACL tear. “He still won’t be in the starting eleven,” Flick confirmed, “but he’s getting more prepared each time.”

Barcelona have enjoyed a good start to their LaLiga title defence and are unbeaten in their opening three matches of the 2025/26 campaign, though they were held to an underwhelming 1-1 draw by Rayo Vallecano just before the recent international break.

Villarreal also head into Sunday’s match with 7 points from their first three games, and Flick praised his managerial counterpart as “a coach who thinks a lot and has very interesting players.”

“It’ll be a beautiful match,” Flick added. Just 6,000 fans will be in attendance, with the match set to be played at the Estadi Johan Cruyff – usually home to Barça Femení – as construction work on the Spotify Camp Nou continues. Those attending have been advised to arrive early to avoid queues.

“I’ve spoken with the players and with the captain, and they told me that it won’t affect them. When we play here, it is different, but it doesn’t have to affect us. We’ve already done it against Como [in preseason],” he emphasised.