Chelsea may not have to deal with the threat of Marcus Rashford for their Champions League clash against Barcelona on Tuesday because of illness. The Spanish giants released a statement on his condition ahead of their La Liga clash against Athletic Club on Saturday back at the Camp Nou for the first time in over two years.

However, the Manchester United loannee was ruled out just before the clash began as confirmed in a Barcelona statement. "Marcus Rashford will miss today’s match against Athletic Club due to flu," it stated.

Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick had already revealed that Rashford could be unavailable during his pre-match press conference. He said on Friday: "Marcus has fever, so he was out [of training] yesterday and today. There are some doubts if he is back tomorrow."

• Burnley 0-2 Chelsea: Everything you need to know from Blues' Premier League win


• Every word Enzo Maresca said on Chelsea win, Andrey Santos display, Estevao reaction

Rashford's absence did not overly impact Barcelona though, with Robert Lewandowski and Fermin Lopez on target alongside a Ferran Torres brace. Rashford would have likely been gutted to miss out having previously expressed his excitement at playing in their iconic stadium.

"Camp Nou was always one of my favourite stadiums and one I wanted to play in," he said. "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."

Having been absent from the squad that beat Athletic, it is currently unclear whether or not he could be back for the trip to Stamford Bridge in just a few days.

The Blues will definitely have to contend with Raphinha in some capacity though, after he returned to action off the bench this weekend following a two-month injury absence.

Enzo Maresca has not had to contend with that many injury problems in recent weeks, though Cole Palmer's return date has been pushed back after he fractured his toe in a freak accident at home. The attacking midfielder had already been nursing a groin issue.

Reece James' half-time substitution in the 2-0 win over Burnley on Saturday appeared to be because of injury, but Maresca revealed it was agreed upon ahead of the game.

"The idea was especially to manage Reece [James], this is the reason why he played 45 minutes, was planned," Maresca said in a press conference.

"Then the rest, Pedro [Neto] and Enzo [Fernandez], they had a good international break in terms of recovery energy and recovery also from the injury. The rest I think they were all good.

On the display at Turf Moor, he added: "It was a tough game for many reasons. Again, after the international break, 12 o'clock in the morning, Burnley away, this type of pitch.

"Also, we need to manage players, so it was a very tricky game, and the way the players compete, again, another clean sheet.

"I don't think probably they had just one important chance in the second half. Overall, I think we deserve to win the game and we are happy."