Barcelona have announced that Marcus Rashford will miss Saturday’s match at the newly renovated Camp Nou due to illness. The Catalans are scheduled to face Athletic Club, but they will do so without the Manchester United loanee. “Marcus Rashford will be absent from today’s game against Athletic Club due to influenza,” the club said in a statement. Barcelona coach Hansi Flick knew he was in a race against time.
Rashford has been in great form, starting the last 10 games in all competitions for his club, but his winning streak will come to an end. Since his loan move, Rashford has scored six goals and provided eight assists. With Raphinha sidelined through injury, the Englishman made the left-wing role his own.
“Marcus has a fever, so he missed (practice) yesterday and today. There is some doubt as to whether he will be back tomorrow,” Flick said on Friday.
Raphinha has now returned to training and Flick has confirmed that he will play against Athletic at the Camp Nou, although not from the start. Despite Rashford’s absence, Barcelona will not be lacking in attacking options and will take advantage of the depth in the squad.
Flick added: “The good news is that Raphinha is back and we are very grateful for what he gives the team. We’ll see tomorrow whether it’s 10, 15 or 20 minutes, but he’s back and it’s a big step for him to come back tomorrow and be on the bench.”
It’s not even January yet, but Rashford is determined to secure a permanent move to Barcelona unless things change in Manchester. After his loan move to Aston Villa last season, it became clear he was not wanted by manager Ruben Amorim, who was happy to go public with his criticism of Rashford.
Saturday’s match will be Barcelona’s first at the Camp Nou since 2023, when they left to renovate the Olympic Stadium. Final renovations will not be completed until 2027, with the third level and roof still incomplete.
Flick is excited to be back, although attendance for the game against Bilbao will be limited to 45,000.
“I think we would prefer to play at Camp Nou,” he said. “When we had our open training there two weeks ago, I went up the stairs and saw the pitch and it was an incredible feeling to see the fans around me.
“This is a football stadium and this is what we love so of course we’re all happy to be back in the stadium. It can be a really big boost in the game because it’s a very close game and the fans know when the team needs this boost.”
