Real Madrid defender Dean Huijsen has defended Lamine Yamal's departure from the Spain camp ahead of key World Cup qualifiers against Georgia and Turkey this week.
Yamal, 18, joined up with the Spain squad earlier this week but returned to Barcelona on Tuesday after undergoing a procedure on Monday which requires up to 10 days' rest.
It was the latest twist in an ongoing saga between Spain and Barça as Yamal attempts to recover from a persistent groin injury which has been hampering him since September.
"He has some problems and it's normal that he goes back home," Huijsen told Marca. "I also left the camp last month when I had some pain."
While the focus has mainly centered on the fallout between Spain and Barcelona -- with La Roja coach Luis de la Fuente angry that he was not informed Yamal would undergo the procedure beforehand -- the teenager's commitment to his national team has also been doubted.
"Lamine is a normal kid," Huijsen added. "He's just 18 years old. Sometimes things are exaggerated with him.
"The same happens at Madrid with Vinícius, who is an incredible player and a good guy, but they criticise him for the smallest things. If we deserve it, we can take it, but a lot of times it crosses the line."
De la Fuente has also been keen to stress the situation has been handled badly by Barça, calling for better communication and saying that Yamal was not aware of what the procedure entailed or the consequences of it. Sources at the Catalan club claim the Royal Spanish Football Federation [RFEF] were kept in the loop.
Barça and Spain teammate Dani Olmo said Yamal's willingness to represent his country should not be questioned.
"Lamine always wants to be here with the national team," he told Onda Cero. "If he's not been able to be here this time, it's because he's not 100%.
"His desire to be here has been questioned, but behind closed doors you can see that is completely the opposite to that."
The issue has been dragging on since September, when Barça coach Hansi Flick accused De la Fuente of failing to take care of Spain's young players after Yamal returned to his club with a pubalgia problem.
Yamal subsequently missed four games for Barça, returned for two matches and then missed three more games -- one for his club and two for Spain.
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Since then, he has made six successive starts for Barça, scoring four goals and assisting three, which led to him receiving a call up for Spain last Friday.
"There's no problem, everyone wants him to be 100%," Olmo added of the ongoing row between Barça and the RFEF. "Lamine is also used to people talking about him."
A minimum of four points will see Spain guarantee their place at next summer's World Cup this week, although depending on other results, they could also qualify with fewer points.