Barcelona Draft In Umtiti For Lyon Clash

By Max Wise

Spanish Champions Barcelona have been handed an injury boost with the news that French World Cup winning defender Samuel Umtiti will be available to face his former club Olympique Lyon in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Umtiti has been missing in action since suffering a knee injury against Atletico Madrid in November.

The Cameroonian-born defender suffered a similar injury earlier in the season, meaning he has made just seven La Liga appearances all season.

Umtiti’s injury problems this season forced Barcelona into the January transfer market to recruit Jeison Muerillo from Valencia as cover with Thomas Vermaelen, who suffered a calf injury ruling him out of Tuesday’s clash, an unreliable injury-prone candidate.

The news will be welcomed by manager Ernesto Valverde with Barcelona set to follow the Lyon clash with trips to Sevilla and Real Madrid in La Liga either side of a Copa del Rey showdown with Los Blancos at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Umtiti joined Barcelona from Olympique Lyon in the summer of 2016 for a fee of €25m and has gone on to win one La Liga title and two Copa del Rey trophies at the Blaugrana.