He was rushed to Barcelona Hospital just a day after beating Getafe in a match where Villa scored the third of his team's six goals, and four days after playing the second half against Uruguay with the Spanish team in Doha.

The player, whose wife Patricia González recently gave birth to the couple's third child – Luca – is undergoing treatment to remove a calculus, or build-up of calcium stone, in his kidneys.

A statement from the Club said he was due to have the stone taken out last night (Monday) but that the likelihood of his being fit in time for Saturday's Liga match is very remote.