Lamine Yamal of FC Barcelona celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the LaLiga EA Sports match between Rayo Vallecano de Madrid and FC Barcelona at Estadio de Vallecas on August 31, 2025 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)placeholder image
Lamine Yamal of FC Barcelona celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the LaLiga EA Sports match between Rayo Vallecano de Madrid and FC Barcelona at Estadio de Vallecas on August 31, 2025 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Lamine Yamal injury update ahead of Newcastle United’s Champions League opener against Barcelona.
There is an ongoing feud between Barcelona and the Spain national team after the 18-year-old was given painkillers to feature in their 6-0 World Cup qualifier victory in Turkey.
Since returning from international duty last week, Yamal has been unable to train with Barca due to a groin issue and as a result missed Sunday’s 6-0 win over Valencia in La Liga.
Lamine Yamal ‘practically ruled out’ of Newcastle United tie
And his absence looks set to continue against Newcastle, with Spanish newspaper AS claiming the winger is “practically ruled out”. The report read: “Lamine Yamal is practically ruled out for Thursday's Champions League opener against Newcastle.
“According to AS, the young Blaugrana talent did not join his teammates on Tuesday due to a groin injury, instead staying in the gym for individual treatment.
“With two days until the European debut, it seems highly unlikely that Lamine will be included in the squad in this condition.”
Barcelona fly to Newcastle on Wednesday morning ahead of training at St James’ Park in the evening. All eyes will be on whether Yamal is part of the travelling party.
NUFC Eddie Howe on Lamine Yamal’s potential absence
Following Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers, Newcastle boss Eddie Howe was asked whether he’d prefer Yamal to play or miss the match.
“I think whenever I get asked about these types of questions, I think my answer is always the same,” Howe replied. “You want to play the best teams, you want to play against the best players, you want to challenge yourselves as much as you can.
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“In saying that, we also want to win, so we'll take whoever they play. We know they've got world-class players in all the positions. It's irrelevant to a degree, but obviously I understand the question.”
Barcelona boss Hansi Flick takes aim at Spain national team
Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick already hit out at Spain’s management of Lamal.
“He won't be available,” Flick said on Saturday. “He went off to play for Spain with some pain and did not train. They gave him painkillers so he could play.
“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."
The rest of the Newcastle United vs Barcelona injury news
In addition to Yamal, left-back Alejandro Balde and midfielder Gavi are also set to miss the game, though Frenkie de Jong is expected to be involved after returning to training this week.
Meanwhile, Newcastle will have Anthony Gordon available as his three-match suspension only applies to domestic matches, though new signings Yoane Wissa and Jacob Ramsey are sidelined until after the October international break.
That is likely to see £69million club-record signing Nick Woltemade lead the line after he missed his debut against Wolves on Saturday with a goal.
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