Barcelona have started to believe that Memphis Depay is purposely delaying his return from injury in order to prioritise his fitness for the World Cup, according to reports in Spain.
The Dutch forward has been sidelined since he picked up a hamstring injury during the Netherlands' 2-0 Nations League win over Poland in September.
An initial assessment suggested he should be fit within 'four to five weeks', but Depay still has no return date lined up and suspicions at the Camp Nou are growing.
As reported by Spanish outlet AS, there are individuals at Barcelona who are convinced that Depay's delayed return is down to the forward's desire to enter the World Cup in peak condition.
According to an initial prognosis, he should have recovered in a maximum of five weeks but - six weeks after the incident - the forward still has no expectations on when he'll return.
The Catalan side have resigned to the fact that Depay will not be featuring in their two remaining LaLiga games against Almeria and Osasuna prior to the tournament in Qatar kick-starting.
The forward has only made two appearances in LaLiga and three in all competitions this year having fallen down the pecking order at the Camp Nou.
Depay has been one of the Netherlands' most important players in recent years and will be desperate to play in Qatar - given the fact they failed to qualify for the tournament in 2018.
The 28-year-old is closing in on becoming the nation's top goalscorer in history and sits just eight goals behind former Arsenal and Man United striker Robin van Persie.
The Netherlands will start their World Cup campaign against Senegal on November 21st. They're joined by Ecuador and host nation Qatar in Group A.
