Fiery clashes in various tournaments
Germany's Hansi Flick, Barcelona's head coach, has handed the players left behind during the international break a five-day rest. A brutal run of fixtures across several competitions awaits once the break ends.
According to Spanish newspaper Marca, Flick ran Barcelona's final session of the week this morning in a family atmosphere, for the second day running, with so many players away on international duty.
So the German opted to ease the load on those not called up and send them home until Monday.
Plenty of his squad are scattered around the world with their countries: Joan García, Cubarsí, Pedri, Fermín, Lamine Yamal, Marc Bernal, Cancelo, Jordan, De Jong, Livaković, Raphinha and Hamza Abdelkarim.
That leaves Flick with only his injured players, namely Ronny Bardají, Dani Olmo, Koundé, Espart and Rodri, alongside the senior men overlooked by their national teams: Christensen, Szczęsny, Baldé, Gerard Martín, Gabriel Jesus, Gavi, Eric García, Ademi and Bryan Fariñas.
Seizing the lull in competition, the German handed his players a five-day breather after Tuesday's session had drawn in the two youngsters Max Bonfill and Álex González.
Every player gets Wednesday off. Thursday is voluntary too, with only those in treatment programmes expected in, or anyone who fancies popping into the sports city facilities. Nobody has to report back until Monday.
An extremely difficult fixture schedule
Returning next week, the squad face an intensive programme inside the club's facilities. The congested calendar won't let them breathe until the Christmas break.
Matches in La Liga, the UEFA Champions League and the Copa del Rey all crowd the schedule.
Barcelona must take on Villarreal, Sabah, Deportivo, Atlético Madrid, Celta Vigo, Manchester City, Málaga and Real Sociedad, plus whoever emerges from a Copa del Rey draw that has yet to be held.