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Lamine Yamal will miss the rest of Barcelona’s season but should be recovered 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 18-year-old Yamal will miss the remaining six La Liga matches for the leaders as he follows a “conservative treatment” process to heal a muscle injury in his left leg sustained on Wednesday while converting a penalty in a 1-0 win over Celta Vigo.
The club added in a statement that its doctors “predict it [Yamal] will be available for the World Cup.”
Yamal is expected to make his World Cup debut this summer. Spain’s campaign kicks off against Cape Verde on June 15 in Atlanta.
Yamal has emerged as one of the world’s best players since making his Barcelona debut as a record-breaking 15-year-old. He helped lead Spain to Euro 2024 and is a major reason why Luis de la Fuente’s side are among the favorites this summer thanks to his dribbling, creativity and ability to both score and set up teammates.
Yamal went down after scoring the winner against Celta in the 40th minute and immediately looked to the bench to signal that he was injured. He fell to the ground as his teammates arrived to celebrate, appearing to clutch the back of his left leg.
Yamal left the field on his own after being attended to by doctors. He spoke briefly to coach Hansi Flick on the sidelines before heading into the locker room tunnel alone.
Barcelona lead Real Madrid by nine points with two rounds to go before they meet at the Camp Nou on May 10.
Barcelona begin their run-in without Yamal on Saturday when they visit Getafe. Flick could replace Yamal on the right with winger Roony Bardghji or shuffle his front line and play with an extra midfielder.
Yamal leads Barcelona in goals (24) and assists (18) across all competitions.
Report from the Associated Press.
