Barcelona Demands Lamine Yamal’s Return After Injury Scare in Spain Match

A video showing Lamine Yamal limping up the stairs of the Nuevo Condomina has sparked outrage among the FC Barcelona management, who quickly demanded the return of the young striker to the club. The Spanish Football Federation gave its approval after a medical check-up carried out on Sunday, confirming that the 17-year-old player is suffering from a minor muscle overload. As a result, Yamal will not be available on Tuesday for the match against Serbia. But he should be fully recovered to play on Sunday against Seville and the two confrontations next week against Bayern Munich in the Champions League and Real Madrid in La Liga, reports El Periodico.

Yamal’s injury against Denmark has raised the issue of his overexploitation by La Roja. When questioned on this subject during the post-match press conference, De la Fuente replied: "That’s football! Here, they use their maximum intensity and the opponents use all their tools to the limit of the rules." The Spanish technician will add: "It’s difficult to dose. The percentage of matches that can be played with a national team is 3.5%, it’s derisory." A statement that is not verified, when we know that since the beginning of the season, Yamal has already played 1,103 minutes in all competitions, including 270 with the Spanish team, i.e. 20.3%.

The young player, who suffers from hamstring problems, will undergo a new check-up to allay fears. Yamal seems to have accumulated an excessive number of injuries for a player his age. The 17-year-old is coming off a busy season where he gave his all, totaling 26 matches out of 29 for Barça, and 10 out of 11 matches for La Roja, including the Euro. This season, the German coach of Barça, Lansi Flick, is trying to spare Yamal. The young striker was not a starter against Osasuna and was replaced against Monaco. Currently, the winger is the fourth most used player in Barça, behind Raphinha, Koundé and Lewandowski.