After returning from the national team in September, Yamal missed three weeks of club football due to pain in the pubic bone. The Spanish Football Federation’s (RFEF)management of his injury left Barca fuming, and manager Hansi Flick expressed his frustration publicly, gaining support from sporting director Deco. However, after returning from injury, he featured for a few minutes against Real Sociedad before recording a full-fledged outing against Luis Enrique‘s PSG three days back.
According to Mundo Deportivo the club has indicated that Yamal might once again miss two to three weeks of action. This means he may be sidelined for the Sevilla game and may not be able to travel with the squad to Nervion. Moreover, he could miss the national team camp for the two World Cup qualifiers against Georgia and Bulgaria. Communication has been established between Barca and the RFEF.
Spain national team head coach Luis de la Fuente has hit back at Flick’s fuming comments over Yamal’s injury management by the national team officials. The 64-year-old had previously stated that he is not interested in what the Barca coach says. And now, he has criticised the German over a lack of empathy. He said: “I was simply surprised by those statements because he was a national team coach, and I believed he had that empathy. Likewise, I say that he was a coach and knows how we players behave. That’s what surprises me, that a former coach would have that opinion. We’re playing for the World Cup, that’s what’s really important. The rest isn’t important.”
In Yamal’s absence, Flick might be forced to use Manchester United loanee Marcus Rashford and 2025 Ballon d’Or nominee Raphinha on the wings to help the lone Polish forward Robert Lewandowski up front. He has used a similar tactic in previous games and might switch back to the same against Sevilla. Other options on the flanks can be Ferran Torres or Roony Bardghji.
