A feud has erupted between the club and the national team after the teen sensation returned with an injury, ruling him out of their most recent match and is expected to the Champions League opener against Newcastle this week.
According to Cadena SER, although the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) claimed Yamal had no discomfort, they had informed Barcelona that they had “injected Voltaren into his spine because he couldn’t leave the hotel and asked us not to play.”
Barca missed Yamal’s services against Valencia, a game in which the Catalans whitewashed their opponents 6-0, with Marcus Rashford and Roony Bardghji starting on the wings.
Head coach Hansi Flick was furious with the RFEF’s treatment of Yamal, who was unable to train with his team-mates after returning to Catalunya. The 60-year-old said in the press conference: “Lamine Yamal will not be available. He went with the national team in pain and did not train. They gave him painkillers to play. They had at least a three-goal lead in every match, and he played 73 minutes and 79, and between matches he couldn’t train. That is not taking care of the player. I am very sad about this.”
Amid the controversy regarding Yamal’s injury and Flick’s comments, which stunned the RFEF, Barca’s sporting director, Deco, has backed the German manager. He said in an interaction with the club’s media team: “In Lamine’s case, I agree with what [Flick] said. In the end, we have to improve our communication, we have to improve the protocols between clubs and national teams. Players are subject to excessive workloads nowadays as we all know. [International breaks] are always complicated because many times players come back with injuries. We have to try to improve. We agree with the mister because in the end, [Yamal is] an important player for us, an important player for Spain, and I think between all of us we have to be a little bit more careful.”
Barcelona will be featuring in the Champions League this week to take on Premier League side Newcastle in their opening game. But unfortunately, the teenager, who did not train on Monday, is expected not to take the field.
