Marcus Rashford ruled out of Barcelona’s Nou Camp return just hours before kick-off

Marcus Rashford has been forced to sit out Barcelona’s first match back at the revamped Nou Camp due to illness.

The Catalan giants are currently in action against Athletic Bilbao, as they return to their iconic home ground after a 910-day absence.

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Prior to today’s clash, Barcelona had not played a match at Spain’s largest stadium since 2023, so a £1.3billion refurbishment of the venue could take place.

Why isn’t Marcus Rashford playing against Athletic Bilbao?

Unfortunately for Rashford however, he will play no part in the historic occasion, after an update from the club in the game’s build-up.

Just a few hours before kick-off, the LaLiga champions announced the England international would miss the clash due to illness.

A statement from the club read: “Marcus Rashford will miss today’s match against Athletic Club due to flu.”

The news won’t have come as much surprise to those within the club, with manager Hansi Flick revealing on Friday that Rashford had been unable to take part in training leading up to the match.

The German said on Friday: “Marcus has fever, so he was out [of training] yesterday and today.

“There are some doubts if he is back tomorrow.”

Rashford has been in fine form since joining Barcelona on a season-long loan from Manchester United in the summer.

After falling out of favour under Red Devils boss Ruben Amorim, the 28-year-old has returned to his best in Spain, netting six goals and providing nine assists in 16 appearances so far this term.

But his absence hasn’t affected his team so far today, with Barcelona racing into the lead after just four minutes.

After a mix-up at the back among the Athletic Bilbao defenders, Robert Lewandowski pounced to put the Spanish champions in front.

This saw the Pole continue his red-hot form, after he scored a hat-trick last time out in a 4-2 win over Celta Vigo.

Ferran Torres then doubled the hosts lead on the stroke of half-time, after being put through on goal by Lamine Yamal.

This saw Barcelona make the perfect start to their homecoming in front of 45,401 supporters.

What is the roadmap for the Nou Camp?

Barcelona had been playing away from the Nou Camp for the last two-and-a-half years, while the venue was closed for renovation.

During this time, Hansi Flick’s side played their home games at the city’s Olympic Stadium at Montjuic.

The plan was to modernise the Nou Camp and to expand its capacity to 105,000 – making it one of the largest grounds in the