Frank Rijkaard said Eto'o will remain with his club for two more games

The 26-year-old could then play for the Catalans against Sevilla on January 9 before facing Murcia three days later.

Barcelona coach Franck Rijkaard said that he had reached an agreement with Cameroon to delay the striker leaving.

However, this claim has been denied by the Cameroon Football Federation (FCF) who say Eto'o will attend as scheduled.

Barcelona are also set to lose midfielder Yaya Toure who joins his Ivory Coast team-mates on Monday.

With both Argentina's Lionel Messi and Brazil's Ronaldinho unavailable due to injury, Barcelona are relying heavily on Eto'o for their fire power.

Eto'o and Toure could be absent for about one month, depending on how their teams progress in the tournament which runs from 20 January to 10 February.