Yamal injury absence likely to be extended as Barca confirm squad for Newcastle

Barcelona have traveled to Newcastle for their Champions League debut at St. James’ Park on Thursday night, without star forward Lamine Yamal. The fear is that his back issues could extend his absence beyond this week though.

The Blaugrana star returned from Spain duty after playing through pain-killing injections, and missed their clash against Valencia on Sunday. However Lamine Yamal’s back has seen no improvement, and after being left out of their trip to face Newcastle United, the 18-year-old could miss more games.

As per MD, Lamine Yamal is a major doubt for the visit of Getafe on Sunday too, as well as Barcelona’s trip to Real Oviedo the following week. The Catalan giants are now focusing on having Lamine Yamal fully fit for their heavyweight bout with Paris Saint-Germain on the first of October – he could play some part in their clash with Real Sociedad at home a few days prior.

The Catalan daily also note that his back issues started after Barcelona’s clash with Levante, nearly a full month ago, and were aggravated after the tie with Rayo Vallecano. Currently he is undergoing daily physiotherapy sessions to try and get back as soon as possible, but Barcelona have no intention of taking any risks.

On a more positive note for Barcelona, Frenkie de Jong has traveled to Newcastle, and has been given the green light for their European tie. The Dutchman also missed the Valencia game, after returning from international duty with muscle discomfort.

With Lamine Yamal out, youngster Toni Fernandez has been included in Barcelona’s squad too, as has left-back Jofre Torrents, with Alejandro Balde and Marc-Andre ter Stegen also out. It is expected that Raphinha and Marcus Rashford start either side of Ferran Torres or Robert Lewandowski through the middle, with Roony Bardghji dropping to the bench.

Barcelona squad: