Barcelona confirm fresh injury for Spanish-Moroccan winger Lamine Yamal right after Spain recall

Barcelona on Friday confirmed that teenage forward Lamine Yamal has suffered a recurrence of a groin injury, just hours after being named in Spain’s squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

The 18-year-old, who is of Moroccan descent through his father, has now been ruled out for two to three weeks.

The injury forces Yamal out of Barça’s LaLiga trip to Sevilla on Sunday as well as Spain’s qualifiers against Georgia and Bulgaria.

His absence is also a major concern for Barcelona ahead of a crucial October run, which includes games against Girona, Olympiacos and Real Madrid in El Clásico on October 26.

“Discomfort in the pubic area that Lamine Yamal has been experiencing has reappeared after the match against PSG. He will be out for the Sevilla game, and the estimated recovery time is 2–3 weeks,” Barcelona said in a statement.

Yamal had only just returned to action, featuring as a substitute in the win over Real Sociedad before playing the full 90 minutes in the Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.

His recall to Spain’s squad was meant to signal his recovery, but Friday’s medical update has forced Luis de la Fuente to rethink his plans.

Spain’s coach, who insisted there was “no conflict” with Barça manager Hansi Flick despite recent tension over player management, defended his decision to call Yamal, stressing that risk is always part of football.

Álvaro Morata was a surprise omission from the latest Spain squad despite being fit, while other absentees include Nico Williams, Dani Carvajal, Gavi and Fermín López through injury.

Marcos Llorente, Pablo Barrios and Yeremy Pino are among those recalled.

Barcelona sporting director Deco confirmed he has spoken with his Spanish federation counterpart, Aitor Karanka, to improve communication over player workload.

Spain lead their qualifying group with a perfect record and could secure World Cup qualification with wins over Georgia and Bulgaria.