Lamine Yamal’s World Cup status unclear after Barcelona injury

The consensus World Cup favourite could ‌be in danger of missing its top attacking option after Spanish ⁠forward Lamine Yamal ⁠sustained an injury while playing for Barcelona on Wednesday in a La Liga match.

According to reports, club officials believe Yamal sustained a ⁠torn hamstring, though a full prognosis won’t be known until he undergoes scans on Thursday.

The 18-year-old superstar drew a foul that led to a penalty kick, ⁠which Yamal stepped up and scored in the 40th minute against visiting Celta Vigo. However, once the ball hit the net, Yamal didn’t celebrate. Instead, he went down injured, clutching his left hamstring.

“We have to wait,” Barcelona ‌coach Hansi Flick said after the game. “We have to see what it is. There is something. He felt it. After the goal, he would not leave the pitch without reason.

“So it’s something. Something happened. Hopefully it’s not so bad, but we have to wait until tomorrow.”

Midfielder Pedri, Yamal’s teammate with both Barca and the Spanish national team, said, according to ESPN: “Hopefully Lamine will only miss ⁠a few weeks. I wish him the best of luck. ⁠He needs to remain calm because he’s young and will surely recover well”.

The goal was Yamal’s 16th in 28 La Liga matches this season (his 24th in 45 games in all competitions), and ⁠led Barcelona to a 1-0 win. The result leaves Barcelona with a nine-point lead on second-place Real Madrid in ⁠the league standings, so Barca are comfortably on course ⁠to claim the league title, regardless of Yamal’s health.

The bigger question is whether the injury could impact Spain’s chances at the World Cup this summer in North America.

Spain are scheduled for Group H ‌matches on June 15 against Cape Verde and on June 21 against Saudi Arabia, both in Atlanta, then play Uruguay on June 26 in Zapopan, Mexico.

Spain won ‌UEFA ‌Euro 2024, in part due to contributions from the then-16-year-old Yamal. A sublime playmaker and finisher, Yamal has six goals in 25 career appearances for the Spanish national team.