Spanish FA hit back at Barcelona in war over Lamine Yamal following Hansi Flick's outburst blaming national team for injury

Barcelona were dealt a huge blow ahead of their first home game of the season, as head coach Flick announced that Yamal would not be available for the Valencia fixture on Sunday after suffering an injury while on international duty with Spain. 

During the pre-match press conference on Saturday, Flick was unable to prevent himself from expressing his anger at the situation. The German didn't mince his words and aimed his comments at Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente in a rant. "Lamine Yamal will not be available. He went with the national team in pain and did not train. They gave him painkillers to play," Flick said. "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."

According to Sport, sources close to the Spanish national team claim that Barcelona provided no communication regarding any potential injury to Yamal upon his arrival for international duty. Furthermore, team physiotherapist Fernando Galan reportedly found no physical issues with the teenager during routine medical checks. Meanwhile, Flick admitted in the same press conference that he has had minimal contact with De la Fuente since taking over at the club. However, sources within RFEF maintain that there is ongoing and regular communication between the Federation and the Catalans.

At this moment, it is unclear how long Yamal will spend on the sidelines. However, Barca are hoping that the talismanic teenager can regain fitness in time for their Champions League opener against Newcastle on Thursday. If not, he can be expected, at the very least, to play some role off the bench in next weekend's La Liga outing against Getafe.