Yamal injury latest: Spain hopeful Barcelona winger will face England

Spain manager Luis de la Fuente says he is optimistic Lamine Yamal will recover from a knee injury in time to play against England in Sunday’s Nations League match in Madrid.

The Barcelona winger will miss Spain’s Group A3 fixture away to the Czech Republic on Thursday after suffering discomfort during Sunday’s 2-1 La Liga win against Atletico Madrid.

A scan carried out in Barcelona showed inflammation and fluid in Yamal’s knee. Spain’s medical staff subsequently advised him to rest rather than risk worsening the problem.

“He got hurt in the last match, he had some discomfort in one knee. He went for the usual treatment: a scan in Barcelona, and they saw he had inflammation and fluid in the knee – that meant he needed rest,” De la Fuente said.

The coach added that he had reached an agreement with Barcelona’s medical staff for Yamal not to travel to Prague, while the player’s recovery had provided grounds for encouragement.

“He’s doing a series of exercises with his physio and with the club that indicate the recovery is going well,” said De la Fuente.

“We believe, I’m optimistic, that on Friday he’ll be with us.”

Yamal finished third in the October Ballon d’Or voting and has established himself as one of Spain’s key players. However, De la Fuente rejected the suggestion that the 19-year-old receives different treatment from the rest of the squad.

“He has no privileges, and his teammates are relaxed about it, because we treat everyone the same,” he said.

“In similar situations we would have done exactly the same for any other player, and the players know that.”

Spain have already secured their place in the Nations League quarter-finals after winning all four of their Group A3 matches.

They are also unbeaten in their past 43 competitive games, a run De la Fuente wants to extend when they face the Czech Republic and England.

“We want to keep setting new milestones, and this is another one,” he said.

“Having reached 43, you think, my goodness, we want to get to 44, of course we do.”

Merino accepts Spain role

Mikel Merino says he would welcome more playing time for Spain but accepts the decisions made by De la Fuente.

The Arsenal midfielder has been particularly influential as a substitute, scoring important goals against Portugal and Belgium during the World Cup before scoring twice in Spain’s previous match against Croatia.

Merino acknowledged that he would prefer to start more often, but said his priority was to contribute whenever selected.

“Of course, what player wouldn’t like to get more minutes?” he said.

“You’ll never hear me complain about the coach’s decision, I will respect it, but all players want to be important, have minutes and enjoy themselves on the pitch.”