Barcelona ‘Monitoring’ Star Player’s Fitness, Latest on De Jong’s Availability for Champions League

Barcelona continue to monitor Lamine Yamal as the Spanish star recovers from a pubic area injury suffered during the international break, though Frenkie de Jong could return when the Catalans begin their Champions League campaign on Thursday.

Barça returned to action following the September break without both Yamal and De Jong in the squad for their unorthodox home opener against Valencia. Hansi Flick’s team demolished Valencia 6–0 on the night at the Estadi Johan Cruyff after receiving special permission from La Liga amid Camp Nou renovations and the Estadio Olímpico Lluís Companys being unavailable.

While both players weren’t a big miss on the night, their availability continues to be a cause for concern early in the season as games ramp up. According to MundoDeportivo, Barcelona continue to monitor Yamal and missed training on Monday.

Though, De Jong could be available. The Dutch midfielder left the Netherlands camp early, but returned to training ahead of Barcelona’s Champions League opener against Newcastle United.

The Catalan side have some additional time to get De Jong back to match fitness given Barcelona play on a Thursday. As was the case last year, the first week of the league phase features three separate matchdays to highlight the start of the campaign. When the tournament returns at the end of September, matches will go back to a two-day schedule on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Pedri and Marc Casadó started in a midfield pivot against Valencia with Fermín López taking on creative duties in attack. Should De Jong not be able to start, Flick could roll with the same pivot given both players had strong performances.

In attack, Yamal was replaced by summer signing Roony Bardghji on the right flank. He was substituted for Raphinha at halftime, but could be in line for more minutes if Yamal is not fit for the matchday squad.

Flick vocalized his strong feelings toward Spain following the international break: “They had at least a three-goal lead in both matches, and he still played 73 and 79 minutes. Between the games he wasn’t able to train. That’s not looking after the player. I’m very sad about this.” Deco, the Barcelona sporting director, backed Flick and his sentiment.