Rijkaard said the player had made a request not to play against Valencia in order to fully restore his match fitness.

"Eto'o has told me he would prefer to stay in Barcelona to continue working to restore his form which he felt was improving recently," Rijkaard told

Eto’o was involved in a bust-up with Rijkaard last week after he refused to make a late appearance in the liga match against Santander on Sunday.

The former Real Mallorca striker also took a swipe at teammate Ronaldinho after the latter accused him of being selfish.

However, the dispute was softened after Eto'o and Ronaldinho were found embracing during the team’s training session on Wednesday.

Barcelona are currently in charge of the league table with 46 points, three ahead of second- placed Sevilla.