Lamine Yamal will not play in Barcelona’s Champions League opener at Newcastle on Thursday because of an injury

Spain's Lamine Yamal, left, and Turkey's Abdulkerim Bardakci fight for the ball during a World Cup qualifying round Group E soccer match between Turkey and Spain at Konya Buyuksehir stadium, in Konya, Turkey, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Lamine Yamal will not play in Barcelona's Champions League opener at Newcastle on Thursday because of an injury.

The Catalan club said Wednesday that Yamal was not in its squad for the trip to England in the league phase of the Champions League. The star forward had already missed the Spanish league game against Valencia on Sunday.

Yamal was nursing “discomfort in the pubic area” after playing with Spain's national team during the international break.

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick had said he was upset with Spain for having played Yamal for what he considered unnecessary minutes during big wins in two World Cup qualifiers. Flick accused Spain of being aware that Yamal was feeling discomfort and playing him anyway.

The federation said in response to Flick's statements that it had not received any notification from Barcelona that Yamal was injured.

Madrid will have midfielder Frenkie de Jong available. He had also missed the game against Valencia after getting injured with the Netherlands national team during the international break.

Barcelona reached the semifinals of last season's Champions League, being eliminated by Inter Milan.

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