Barcelona's first stop on the long road to European glory takes them to Newcastle, where they will come up against a formidable opponent and equally formidable atmosphere at St James' Park without the talismanic Lamine Yamal. The injured 18-year-old has been ruled out, having found himself at the centre of a feud between club and country, but loanee Marcus Rashford will be determined to make an impact in his absence.
On the face of it, things have been going pretty smoothly for Barca so far this season. Hansi Flick's side are unbeaten in La Liga, albeit they surprisingly had to come from 2-0 down and rely on a late own goal to beat Levante in gameweek two and were then frustratingly held by minnows Rayo Vallecano before the international break to fall two points behind early pacesetters Real Madrid.
However, the Blaugrana arrive on Tyneside for their opening Champions League league phase clash with Newcastle against the backdrop of a high-profile and, in their eyes, very avoidable injury quandary – one that could feasibly hand their hosts the advantage under the lights on Thursday night: they will be without talismanic teenager Yamal.
Much to his club's displeasure, the prodigious 18-year-old has been ruled out after seemingly being forced to play through the pain barrier on international duty with Spain, despite aggravating a pre-existing groin issue. In the St James' Park cauldron, Barca will have to do without him, and Rashford could be the man to step up.
AFPClub vs country
Barcelona now find themselves embroiled in something of a feud with the Spanish FA (the RFEF) over their handling of Yamal, who inexplicably started both of his country's comfortable World Cup qualifying victories over Bulgaria and Turkey earlier in September despite being unable to train.
He is said to be suffering with pubalgia – chronic groin and lower abdominal pain that requires rest. The injury flared up in the Levante game and was worsened against Rayo.
Many would argue his services probably weren't required for the task at hand for La Roja, given the wealth of attacking options at Luis de la Fuente's disposal. Yamal's club-mates Dani Olmo and Fermin Lopez were also part of the squad, as well as forwards Mikel Oyarzabal, Ferran Torres, Jorge de Frutos and Jesus Rodriguez.
The youngster even required a painkilling injection into his to ease what was described as 'acute lower back pain', having supposedly asked not to play in the second game of the break against Turkey in Konya because he was in so much discomfort that he didn't want to leave the hotel. Whatever Spain did, it obviously worked, with the wounded winger able to contribute three assists across the two matches.
AdvertisementGetty/GOAL'That's not taking care'
Something of a war of words and whispers ensued, with Flick clearly irked to be without his key man for a La Liga clash with Valencia at the weekend. "Lamine Yamal will not be available," the German said in a press conference. "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."
Sources close to the Spanish national team set-up then insisted that Barcelona hadn't communicated that Yamal was carrying an injury or any longstanding fitness problem when he was called up to the squad, and physio Fernando Galan apparently found no issues during a routine medical check.
Ultimately, both parties seem to have resolved to de-escalate the situation, with Barca sporting director Deco set to hold talks with the RFEF's technical director, Aitor Karanka. "We have to improve our communication, we have to improve the protocols between clubs and national teams," Deco said. "Players are subject to excessive workloads nowadays as we all know. [International breaks] are always complicated because many times players come back with injuries. I think between all of us we have to be a little bit more careful."
(C)Getty ImagesUncertain prognosis
It then became a question of when Yamal would be available again, with his exploits for the national team coming at a potentially significant cost to his club. It soon emerged that he almost certainly wouldn't be involved against Newcastle on Thursday night, and indeed his name was nowhere to be seen when Barcelona confirmed their travelling squad on Wednesday morning.
And to make matters worse, it's not actually clear when the 18-year-old will be available again as the Blaugrana's medical staff take a cautious approach to a condition that can be debilitating if it isn't handled properly, with surgery potentially required if conservative treatments like rest and physiotherapy aren't successful.
According to , even Sunday's La Liga game against Getafe and the meeting with Oviedo the following Thursday will come too soon for Yamal, while he may only be given a brief cameo when Barca face Real Sociedad on September 28.
Behind the scenes, it's said the medical team are targeting the mammoth Champions League clash against European champions Paris Saint-Germain – when they will be desperate to have their talisman fit – in a fortnight's time.
Getty Images SportFearsome proposition
And so, Barcelona will enter the cauldron that is St James' Park on opening night in the Champions League without arguably their most important figure. Flick will just hope the rest of his players are up to the task without him, because Yamal is the kind of player who is capable of snuffing out a fervent atmosphere singlehandedly.
Thursday night's encounter under the lights will not be for the fainthearted. Newcastle have delivered recent evidence that the very best around will struggle badly on their home turf, with the Magpies set to be buoyed by a cacophonous racket as they are roared on by a partisan crown.
It was two years ago that PSG visited Tyneside in what was Newcastle's first home Champions League game in two decades, and the soon-to-be European champions quite simply couldn't handle their rampant hosts as they were torn to shreds, with a three-goal lead established within 50 minutes.
The final 4-1 scoreline was in no small part down to the deafening, hostile atmosphere generated inside the stadium, and that is certain to be repeated when Barcelona come to town for the home side's latest return to top-tier continental football.
