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Lamine Yamal will miss the rest of Barcelona’s season but should recover from a leg injury in time to play for Spain at the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup, the club said on Thursday.
Barcelona said the 18-year-old Yamal will miss the leaders’ six remaining La Liga matches as he undergoes a “conservative treatment” process to heal a muscle injury in his left leg that he suffered on Wednesday while converting a penalty in a 1-0 win over Celta Vigo.
The club added in a statement that its doctors “expect that [Yamal] “I will be available for the World Cup.”
Yamal is supposed to make his World Cup debut this summer. Spain’s campaign begins against Cape Verde on June 15 in Atlanta.
Yamal has become one of the best players in the world since he debuted for Barcelona when he was 15 years old, a record. He helped lead Spain to the 2024 European Championship and is one of the main reasons why Luis de la Fuente’s team is among the favorites this summer thanks to his dribbling, creativity and ability to score and assist his teammates.
Yamal fell to the ground after scoring the winning goal against Celta in the 40th minute and immediately looked at the bench to indicate that he was injured. He fell to the ground as his teammates arrived to celebrate and then appeared to grab the back of his left leg.
Yamal left the field on his own after being treated by doctors. He spoke briefly with coach Hansi Flick on the bench before walking alone towards the locker room tunnel.
Barcelona leads Real Madrid by nine points with two more rounds before meeting at the Camp Nou on May 10.
Barcelona will begin its run without Yamal on Saturday when it visits Getafe. Flick could replace Yamal on the right side with winger Roony Bardghji or mix up his forward line and play with an extra midfielder.
Yamal leads Barcelona in goals (24) and assists (18) in all competitions.
Information from The Associated Press.
