Barca's Umtiti heads to Qatar for treatment

Barcelona Samuel Umtiti has travelled to Qatar for the next stage of treatment on his ongoing knee complaint.

The France centre-back has made eight appearances for Barca this season and returned from two months on the sidelines in last weekend's 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid.

He played the full 90 minutes at the Wanda Metropolitano but sat out Wednesday's Champions League encounter at PSV.

As such, Umtiti will now follow a "conservative" treatment plan to try and find a solution.

"The first team player Samuel Umtiti will follow a plan of conservative treatment with the objective of curing the discomfort in his left knee," a statement from Barcelona read.

"The player will travel to Doha, Qatar where he will follow this therapeutic plan under the supervision of the club's medical services."

Umtiti joined Barca from Lyon in 2016 and has made 91 appearances for LaLiga's champions.

Ernesto Valverde's men lie second in the table after 13 matches, one point behind Sevilla, and entertain Villarreal at Camp Nou on Sunday.