Marcus Rashford has been in fine form for Barcelona since joining on loan from Manchester United this summer, but now he faces a spell on the side-lines with illness.
Marcus Rashford applauds the crowd.
Marcus Rashford will have to wait a little longer until he plays for Barcelona at their revamped Camp Nou venue.
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Barcelona have announced that Marcus Rashford will be absent from Saturday's match at the newly refurbished Camp Nou, due to illness. The Spanish champions will be without the Manchester United loanee when they face Athletic Bilbao.
"Marcus Rashford will miss today's match against Athletic Club due to flu," an official club statement read. The 68-cap England international was looking forward to playing on the hallowed turf in Catalonia.
Speaking to reporters at an open training session earlier this month, Rashford discussed his experience playing at the ground. He said: "It's a very nice feeling. It's a beautiful stadium and when it is full it's going to be unbelievable.
"Camp Nou was always one of my favourite stadiums and one I wanted to play in. But to play on it for Barcelona is going to be a different feeling. I can't wait to be on the pitch. I will enjoy it."
Hansi Flick knew Rashford was facing a race against time. On Friday, the Barcelona boss announced the England international was a doubt. Flick said: "Marcus has fever, so he was out [of training] yesterday and today. There are some doubts if he is back tomorrow."
Rashford, who has been in top-form, had started the last 10 matches across all competitions for the Catalan side. He will now see his streak come to an end.
Marcus Rashford and Ferran Torres during a training session.
Marcus Rashford missed training with Barcelona and will not feature on Saturday.
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Since joining Barcelona on loan during the summer, Rashford has netted six goals and provided eight assists. The Englishman has carved out a niche for himself on the left wing in Raphinha's absence.
The Brazilian, who's been nursing an injury, is now back in training, and Flick confirmed he will now feature against Athletic at Camp Nou. Despite Rashford's absence, Barcelona have plenty of attacking options and will utilise their squad depth.
Flick said: "The good news is Raphinha is back. I appreciate a lot what he can give the team.
"We will see tomorrow if 10, 15 or 20 minutes, but he's back and it's a big step for him to come back and be on the bench tomorrow."
It is not yet January, but Rashford is determined to earn himself a move to Barcelona on a permanent basis, unless his situation in Manchester changes. It became clear that he was not fancied by Ruben Amorim, who was happy to go public with his criticism of Rashford, who was loaned out to Aston Villa for a period.
Saturday's fixture will be Barcelona's first match at the Camp Nou since their temporary relocation to the Olympic Stadium - in 2023 - to facilitate refurbishment works. The complete renovation is not expected to be finished until 2027, as the third tier and roof still require further work.
Marcus Rashford applauds.
Marcus Rashford has thrived on loan with Barcelona.
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The Bilbao clash will see a restricted capacity of 45,000, though Flick is still thrilled about the return. The German head coach said: "I think we prefer to play in Camp Nou.
"When we had the open training there two weeks ago, I went up the stairs and saw the pitch, it was an unbelievable feeling, seeing all the fans around.
"It's a football stadium and this is what we love, so of course we are all happy to be back in out stadium. It can give us a really big push in the match because it's very close and the fans know when the team needs this push."