Julian Alvarez has missed Atletico Madrid training for the second day in a row, following the club's declaration that there is a "0% chance" of him joining Barcelona.
The 26-year-old was absent on Wednesday due to a stomach bug and a bad night's sleep. The situation remains the same 24 hours later.
Club stands firm on Barcelona
Reports in Spain state that Alvarez is still unwell and not ready to return to first-team training.
It comes after Atletico once again reiterated their stance that Alvarez will not be allowed to sign for Barcelona this summer.
The forward publicly confirmed at the World Cup that he wanted to leave Atletico and it is understood that Barcelona are his dream club.
However, Atletico have been firm in insisting that they will not sell Alvarez to their Spanish rivals.
Laporta's comments and Atletico's response
On Wednesday, Barcelona released an interview with president Joan Laporta in which he addressed the club's pursuit of Alvarez.
"The truth is that we're very interested in the player," Laporta said. "We'd like our offer to be accepted, and we say this with all due respect for Atletico Madrid."
Atletico hit back at those latest comments with a statement to Marca, in which they made it clear that there will be no U-turn.
"This is not about money, it's about dignity," the club said. "The player is being victimised, but the only victim in the Julian case is us. [Barcelona] have harmed us economically and socially. There is 0% chance of selling him to Barca."
"There is a campaign of many lies and half-truths. The only one paying for this is Atletico."
Arsenal monitoring the situation
Arsenal are waiting to see whether the latest developments in the saga open the door to them making a move for Alvarez.
Mikel Arteta is a big admirer of the forward and Andrea Berta knows the player and his representatives well, having been sporting director when Alvarez signed for Atletico.
However, Arsenal are well aware that Alvarez's preference is to join Barcelona.
While they have been monitoring the situation and working in the background, the Gunners would need encouragement from the player's side to believe a deal is possible in the final days of the window.
