Mascherano's fever had not improved by Saturday morning so he is not in the squad
Valverde had hoped to be able to name him in the matchday squad but cannot
Barcelona have confirmed that Javier Mascherano is not in the squad to face Athletic Bilbao at the San Mames on Saturday night because his fever has not dipped. The defender did not train on Friday because of that that and as a consequence, is not going to Bilbao.
Hoping the player could recover in time, Valverde named him in a squad of 20 for the game, with David Costas and Oriol Busquets from the B team. Mascherano's absence ensures that one of them will be on the bench. Costas seems more likely as a centre-back. Digne could also be used there but it is not his position, while Thomas Vermaelen has some hip pains and is not included.
Pique was sent off against Olympiakos so will not be playing in Greece this week and we can expect to see Mascherano back alongside Samuel Umtiti then.
