Barcelona send Umtiti for 'conservative treatment' on troublesome knee

Samuel Umtiti appears to be resisting surgery for the time being.

Barcelona are sending the French defender to Doha, Qatar for "a plan of conservative treatment with the objective of curing the discomfort in his left knee." He will undergo his rehabilitation under the supervision of Blaugrana medical staff.

Umtiti played the full 90 minutes of Barcelona's 2-1 defeat at Leganes on Sept. 26 and didn't play again for the club until last Saturday's 1-1 draw at title rivals Atletico Madrid. Despite managing to work the whole shift in the Spanish capital, it seems Umtiti aggravated the recurrent knee injury in that clash.

No timescale has been disclosed for Umtiti's therapeutic plan in Qatar, leaving Gerard Pique and Clement Lenglet to take to the bulk of the workload in central defense for the foreseeable future. Injury-prone veteran Thomas Vermaelen hasn't featured in a competitive match since he lasted 73 minutes of Belgium's 2-1 Nations League win over Switzerland on Oct. 12.