Valverde on Dembele's absence: Everyone can interpret it how they like

After Ousmane Dembele went missing and skipped training with Barcelona on Thursday, Ernesto Valverde addressed the decision to leave him out of the squad to play Real Betis.

The coach refused to enter into details but was clearly unimpressed by the Frenchman.

"It's not a punishment, everyone can take it how they like," the coach explained.

"Sometimes some go and other times it's others, tomorrow Dembele won't be there."

The latest misdemeanour has led to speculation surrounding the youngster's future.

"The talent that Dembele has is difficult to find and we have to help him to take advantage of it," he added.

"We want the best from every player in our team, Dembele has incredible talent and we want to help him to show it some day."

However, Lionel Messi, Samuel Umtiti and Marc-Andre Ter Stegen have been included after injuries and doubts.

"We understand that everyone who comes is in good shape, the return of Umtiti and Messi isn't a risk," Valverde made clear.

"It's true that we are looking after Marc, but he's available for the game against Betis.

"We will see tomorrow if Messi is ready or not for 90 minutes but he's lost the fear from that fall already."

One other player in the news this week is Jordi Alba after his form saw him return to Luis Enrique's national team.

"We've seen him improving every day, he's very committed and is having a great start to the season," Valverde commented.

"He's earned his return to the national team with his work."

On Sunday, Real Betis will provide a different challenge with both teams likely to try to boss possession.

"We both want to play and stop the other team playing," Valverde analysed.