Lamine Yamal has been ruled out of Spain’s World Cup qualifiers against Georgia and Bulgaria this month after suffering a recurrence of his groin injury, Barcelona said on Friday.
The 18-year-old winger is expected to be sidelined for up to three weeks after the problem resurfaced following Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
Yamal made his first start in that match since August after missing four games while recovering from a groin injury, which drew the ire of Barcelona coach Hansi Flick, who felt it was made worse by playing in September’s World Cup qualifiers.
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said earlier on Friday he had no issue with Flick after his criticism of the national team’s handling of the teenager.
“There is no conflict with Flick. I was simply surprised by those statements because he has been a national team coach and I thought he had that empathy,” De la Fuente said after announcing his squad for the upcoming qualifiers.
“You know we have two very important matches; we are playing for the World Cup. It seems like they’re in the background, and we’re talking about Flick.
“We are playing for the World Cup, that is what really matters. The rest is not important. Everyone said what they said, and that’s it.”
Flick said at the time he had spoken briefly to De la Fuente via text message, but their communication could be improved.
De la Fuente sought to provide more clarity on the situation on Friday as he tried to draw a line under the issue.
“What happened was that, when the match ended, he had some kind of discomfort. But I have never played without discomfort. Nothing happened,” he said.
“Our medical staff have explained it, and I have explained it. Nothing more. Did he then have discomfort after the match? Well, I don’t know.”
Yamal’s latest injury also casts doubt over his availability for the Clasico against Real Madrid on October 26.
Spain will be without Nico Williams and Dani Carvajal next week as well, while Alvaro Morata has been left out of the squad after a slow start to the season at Como.
Athletic Bilbao winger Williams has not played since picking up a groin injury in the 6-0 win over Turkey. His club had reportedly asked for his playing time to be managed due to physical discomfort.
“The risk in football and in sports always exists. If he is playing at his club, he is assuming those risks. We are talking about completely normal situations,” said De la Fuente.
Spain are top of Group E with six points after two matches. They face Georgia in Elche on October 11 and host Bulgaria in Valladolid three days later.
