Injuries have been a massive issue for most European clubs this season, including FC Barcelona. The demanding footballing calendar leaves little room for rest, and forces teams to make use of their players to the very extreme. Consequently, it comes as to no one’s surprise that teams like Barcelona are dealing with several sidelined players now.
Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen were already sidelined, but they are now joined by the likes of Lamine Yamal as well. The Spanish winger has suffered an injury to his ankle and it is now suspected that he could be out for two to three weeks and it could be some time before he makes his return.
In light of this recent development, Spanish National team coach Luis de la Fuente has decided to leave out the Barcelona winger from his squad list for the upcoming UEFA Nations League games, and has instead offered his own well wishes to the player as he recovers.
As highlighted by Mundo Deportivo, he both wished Yamal ‘a speedy recovery’ and also revealed how Barcelona sent confirmation of his injury, resulting in the Spanish National team not requiring the player to conduct any extra medical tests with them:
“Barcelona, like all clubs, sent us the report with the relevant tests, and we decided it was best for him not to travel, as it would mean repeating the same process here, which was no longer necessary… We wish him a speedy recovery.”
While this injury definitely comes as a blow to Spain, it is perhaps a much bigger loss for Barcelona. The Catalan giants have already lost their last game without Lamine Yamal and it would not be too far-fetched to say that they will face problems in upcoming games if Hansi Flick does not figure out a good alternative plan and structure.
Yamal’s presence is crucial, but La Blaugrana will need to learn to survive without him as well. If they are unable to do that, the Catalan giants will continue to face bad moments this season that they will be unable to overcome without his help and that is too big of a burden to put on the shoulders of a 17-year-old player.