Lamine Yamal will miss the rest of the club soccer season but should be healthy for the World Cup.
Barcelona announced Thursday that the 18-year-old wouldn’t play again for the club this spring after suffering a left hamstring injury in the team’s La Liga win over Celta Vigo on Wednesday.
Yamal, one of the best players in the world, scored a penalty late in the first half. However, he fell to the ground not long after kicking the ball and went straight to the locker room after receiving treatment on the field.
The nature of the injury immediately raised questions about Yamal’s availability for the World Cup given that the tournament starts in less than two months. But the winger should be available for Spain when the reigning European champions start their World Cup campaign on June 15 against Cape Verde.
Yamal’s star turn began in Euro 2024 as he was a massive part of Spain’s title run. He led all players with four assists in the tournament as Spain beat England in the final.
Across 36 La Liga and Champions League games this season, Yamal has scored 22 goals and added 15 assists. Barcelona was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Champions League a week ago by La Liga rival Atletico Madrid.
However, Barcelona is cruising to the La Liga title. Though Yamal will miss a May 10 home game against Real Madrid, it’s a game that shouldn’t have much impact on the title race. Barcelona has a nine-point lead on Real Madrid and is up 21 points on third-place Villareal with six games remaining in the regular season.
