October 03, (THEWILL) — Barcelona confirmed on Friday that Lamine Yamal will be absent for two to three weeks following a recurrence of his groin problem. The 18-year-old winger experienced renewed discomfort in his pubic area after Wednesday’s Champions League match against Paris Saint-Germain. He will miss the trip to Sevilla this weekend and appears unlikely to join Spain’s squad for World Cup qualifiers against Georgia on October 11 and Bulgaria on October 14.
Yamal had previously missed four matches after September’s international break, having featured in Spain’s qualifying victories over Bulgaria and Turkey before reporting groin pain. He returned from the substitutes’ bench in last Sunday’s 2-1 victory over Real Sociedad and completed the full match against PSG. However, the injury has now returned, forcing another period of recovery.
Barcelona manager, Hansi Flick, had previously claimed Yamal was already injured when he joined Spain in September and required painkillers to participate in their fixtures. Spain manager Luis de la Fuente rejected those assertions on Friday, insisting his medical team takes no risks with player fitness. He stated that any player arriving at the national camp is healthy and fit, and would be sent home if any danger of further injury existed.
De la Fuente expressed surprise at Flick’s comments, given the German’s own experience managing his national team. He denied any conflict between the two coaches but suggested Flick might have shown more understanding of the international manager’s position. The Spain boss maintained that medical staff had explained the situation and that any issue Yamal experienced occurred after matches concluded.
Yamal is among several Spanish attacking players unavailable for the upcoming qualifiers. Nico Williams is also injured, whilst Gavi and Fermin Lopez remain sidelined. Alvaro Morata was unexpectedly left out of De la Fuente’s 26-man squad despite being fit.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
