Spain suffers double World Cup injury blow with Lamine Yamal sidelined and Barca teammate 'out'
With the FIFA World Cup less than a month away, the Spanish national team has suffered two major injury setbacks, with Lamine Yamal still sidelined and a Barcelona teammate seemingly now out for the tournament
Barcelona's Lamine Yamal suffered a hamstring injury against Celta Vigo last month -Credit:Josep LAGO / AFP via Getty Images Spain and Barcelona sensation Lamine Yamal is set to miss out on their FIFA World Cup opener this summer, as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury suffered in a La Liga win over Celta Vigo last month. The 18-year-old was ruled out for the remainder of the season after picking up the injury whilst taking a penalty during the 1-0 win, ending another excellent year during which he appeared in 45 games, scored 24 goals, and racked up 18 assists. He also won his third La Liga title and his second Supercopa de España.
Now hoping to play a key role for Spain at his first World Cup, Yamal is said to likely be unavailable for their Group H opener against Cape Verde at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 15. Pep Guardiola to leave Manchester City after trophy-laden decade in charge Budget-friendly Costco faces backlash with $39,100 FIFA World Cup ticket package Fermín López recently suffered a fractured metatarsal -Credit:Pedro Salado/Getty Images What’s more, Yamal is in doubt for their second game against Saudi Arabia six days later, also in Atlanta, according to The Athletic . Unfortunately for head coach Luis de la Fuente, Yamal won’t be the only Barcelona player missing for Spain when they kick off their pursuit of a second World Cup title, with the Blaugrana having announced that fellow attacker Fermín López has “suffered a fracture to the fifth metatarsal bone in his right foot in the game against [Real] Betis.
” The club’s statement added that he will undergo surgery, meaning he is highly unlikely to make it to the tournament, as per BBC Sport . López has made seven appearances for the Spanish national team to date, including each of their last four games. The 23-year-old’s season ends having appeared in 48 games under Hansi Flick, scoring 13 goals and providing 17 assists.
To listen to the latest episode of 'All Out Soccer' - CLICK HERE Thankfully for de la Fuente, he’ll have two pre-World Cup friendlies with which to figure out how best to handle the absences of Yamal and López. First, they’ll head to Estadio Riazor in La Coruña on June 4, where they’ll face Iraq, before travelling to World Cup co-hosts Mexico to take on Peru at Estadio Cuauhtémoc in Puebla on June 8. As for the World Cup, following their games in Atlanta, they’ll conclude their group stage in Mexico at Estadio Akron in Zapopan against Uruguay on June 26, with the hope of reaching the first-ever Round of 32 - brought in to accommodate the tournament’s expansion from 36 to 48 teams as of 2026.