Lamine Yamal, the 18-year-old winger for FC Barcelona, is going to miss major World Cup qualifying matches. He did suffer a recurrence of a groin injury, ruling him out against Georgia and Bulgaria. He only recently returned to making appearances after sitting out since August. Sadly, this setback comes just after his recovery from the same injury that forced him to miss four games. Following Wednesday’s Champions League match against Paris Saint-Germain, where Barcelona suffered a 2-1 defeat, Yamal’s groin problem has resurfaced, raising concerns about his availability for upcoming fixtures.
Barcelona released a statement saying that the recovery time for Yamal should be around two or three weeks. As a result, he will miss Sunday’s match with Sevilla. His latest injury makes him a serious doubt for the most eagerly awaited El Clasico against Real Madrid on October 26. This new wrinkle only compounds the difficulty facing Barcelona’s rotation as they navigate a very busy slate.
Yamal had only made his return to action last weekend, making a positive impact in Barcelona’s 3-1 win against Real Sociedad. It seems his participation in the UEFA Champions League tie against PSG may have affected his condition.
“The groin problem for Lamine Yamal has returned following the game against PSG. The player will miss [Sunday’s] game against Sevilla and his recovery time is estimated at 2-3 weeks,” – Barcelona
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said he was upset with the timing of Yamal’s injury. He implied that joining September’s World Cup qualifiers did the squad no favors. He was one of the fiercest opponents of allowing Yamal to play during this tumultuous period. In his opinion, it was detrimental to the health of the player.
Luis de la Fuente, the Spanish national team coach, reacted by pointing out that discomfort is par for the course in professional sport. Cuomo further downplayed any contradiction in the face of Flick’s comments.
“What happened was that, when the match ended, he had some kind of discomfort. But I have never played without discomfort. Nothing happened,” – Luis de la Fuente
De la Fuente further explained that the inherent risks of sports should be acknowledged, stating, “The risk in football and in sports always exists. If he is playing at his club, he is assuming those risks.”
As Yamal heals up Barcelona will have to change their approach. His technical wizardry and unparalleled youth have seemingly already flipped the offensive game on its head. Losing him for a long stretch may severely impact their chances of success in the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League.
