Lamine Yamal will be out for three to four weeks with an ankle ligament injury, LaLiga leaders Barcelona have said.
Spanish winger Yamal missed three club games and two international matches with an ankle injury in November, but returned to contribute four assists in five games before suffering a further problem in Barça’s 1-0 home defeat against Leganés on Sunday.
The 17-year-old was replaced by Gavi in the 75th minute at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys as his team dropped points for the fifth time in six league games.
Laminated Yamal. Golden boy. pic.twitter.com/7oQ2kSan0h
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) December 15, 2024
Yamal injury: When will he return?
Yamal’s absence is a considerable blow for Barcelona as they prepare to host second-placed Atlético Madrid on Saturday (20:00 GMT).
The Euro 2024 winner is unlikely to be so missed when Barça visits fourth-division side Barbastro in the Copa del Rey round of 32 on January 4 (6pm), and the soonest he could return It is their match against Athletic Bilbao in Jeddah in the Spanish capital. Super Cup semi-finals, on January 8 (7:00 p.m.).
Barcelona will then have a break of more than 10 days before visiting Getafe, currently fifth in LaLiga, in mid-January.
Their seventh match of the Champions League campaign will be against Portuguese side Benfica in the league phase on January 21 (7:00 p.m.).
MEDICAL NEWS ❗️
First team player Lamine Yamal received a blow to his right ankle during Sunday’s match against CD Leganés. Tests carried out this Monday have revealed that the player has a grade 1 injury to an ankle ligament. The player is expected to be out for 3… pic.twitter.com/IAFD0pWFSS
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) December 16, 2024
yamal statistics
With six club goals and 11 assists this season, Yamal is behind Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha among Barça’s top scorers and has the third-most assists of any player in Europe’s big five leagues.
Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka and Liverpool’s top scorer Mohamed Salah are the only players to have assisted more goals in those divisions.
He had completed 90 minutes in each of Barcelona’s last three games, including an assist for Ferran Torres’ 85th-minute winning goal in a 3–2 win against Borussia Dortmund on 11 December.
Barcelona lost three of the four games Yamal did not start before their 5-1 victory in Mallorca on December 3, when the prodigy provided two assists.
🔄 Substitutions
→🟢 Gavi, Cubarsí
←🔴 Lamine Yamal, Eric#BarçaLeganés pic.twitter.com/QiaXXlFEB0— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) December 15, 2024
Barcelona: Yamal ‘very important’
“He is very important,” coach Hansi Flick said after that match. “He can generate many things for the team. We know its quality and we need it.”
Barcelona’s loss of form has handed the initiative to Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid in the race for the Spanish title, who have one more game to play than Flick’s team.
Atleti are level on points with them, while the current champion is one point behind.
