Lamine Yamal has been ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering a hamstring injury as he scored a penalty to give Barcelona a 1-0 victory over Celta Vigo to push their lead at the top of La Liga to nine points.
The 18-year-old tucked away from the spot on 40 minutes at Camp Nou on Wednesday evening having won the penalty himself after he was brought down by Yoel Lago.
However, immediately after dispatching the ball beyond Celta keeper Ionut Radu, Yamal waved to the bench and fell to the ground grasping at his left leg.
He then limped off the pitch looking distressed and was consoled by manager Hansi Flick before being replaced by Roony Bardghji and heading straight down the tunnel.
Flick said: “We will see what happens with Lamine Yamal once we have a definitive diagnosis. It's not easy, but we have to accept it. The same applies to Joao [Cancelo, who also left the field]. We can only hope these are not serious injuries.”
The win moved the reigning La Liga champions Barcelona a step closer to retaining their title. They are nine clear with six games left to play.
But the Catalan club announced on Thursday that Yamal would not play again this season due to a hamstring injury while also stating that “he is expected to be available for the World Cup”.
It means Yamal will miss the clash against nearest challengers Real Madrid next month and Flick will now be without his star player for that vital game.
Spain, meanwhile, have also been given a major headache with the World Cup now less than 50 days away.
While his club have assured that he will be available to join up with the national team for the tournament in North America, whether he will be 100 per cent and able to take part in La Roja's pre-tournament camp and friendlies remains to be seen.
Yamal, who has scored 16 goals and assisted 11 more in La Liga this season, was Young Player of the Tournament at Euro 2024 as Spain lifted the trophy.
“I hope [his injury] is for as few weeks as possible,” Barcelona and Spain midfielder Pedri told Movistar Plus after the Celta Vigo game. “I wish him the best of luck, and he should stay calm – he's young and will surely recover well.”
