FC Barcelona superstar is contunuing his recovery process in Spain’s pre-World Cup training camp and is looking increasingly likely to feature in La Roja’s competition debut against Cape Verde on June 15.
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FC Barcelona superstar Lamine Yamal is continuing his recovery process in Spain’s pre-World Cup training camp and is looking increasingly likely to feature, or at least be available for, La Roja’s competition debut against Cape Verde on June 15.
The Ballon d’Or candidate has been sidelined since April 22, which is when he injured himself and left the Spotify Camp Nou pitch after scoring a game-winning penalty against Celta Vigo in La Liga.
A season-ending hamstring injury was later confirmed, and Spain fans have since been anxious to learn whether Lamine will recover for the reigning European champions’ World Cup campaign.
While it was originally thought Lamine wouldn’t be ready until the second Group H game on June 21, against a Saudi Arabia outfit that beat eventual victor Argentina and Lionel Messi at Qatar 2022, it’s now looking likely that he’ll be fit for Cape Verde on the 15th.
Positive feelings surround Lamine Yamal’s Spain preparations
As Spain get ready for friendlies against Iraq in A Coruña on Thursday and then Peru in Mexico next Monday after flying to the United States on Friday, SPORT reports that the “sensations” around Lamine, as they say in Spain, are “very positive”.
Lamine is already starting to play with the ball and join the rest of his teammates on the grass. He’s taking part in physical exercises without any problems, which is a huge plus at this point in the proceedings.
Furthermore, this news backs up what Spain boss Luis de La Fuente said when he told Mundo Deportivo how “we knew [Lamine] was going to arrive in perfect condition and I would even risk saying that he will be [ready] for the first game”.
Eager to star at his first World Cup, after being a protagonist in Spain’s Euro 2024 triumph as a 16-year-old that turned 17 during the competition, Lamine has revealed how he reached out to a higher power for help in recovery.
“I remember the play in which I got injured,” Yamal said at the weekend. “I was praying inside for it not to be serious, for it to be a cramp or something like that, because I knew the World Cup was very close.”
In the Spain squad, Lamine Yamal joins seven other FC Barcelona stars including Pedri, Gavi, and Dani Olmo. Unfortunately for Fermin Lopez, he won’t make the plane to North America after picking up a metatarsal fracture in his right foot that is expected to keep him out for three months.
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