Barcelona manager Hansi Flick offered a pessimistic update on the status of Lamine Yamal after the teenager was sidelined again for reaggravating his groin issue after the Champions League clash with PSG.
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, Flick pumped the breaks on any talk that Lamine will be ready for El Clásico against Real Madrid at the end of this month, and made it clear his recovery will take as long as it needs to.
“We don’t know when Lamine will return because with this injury, it’s not easy to say since it’s not a muscle injury. We don’t know if he’ll be back in two, three, or four weeks. I don’t know if he’ll be ready for the Clásico. We have to manage his minutes. He’ll work with the recovery team. He’ll take it step by step. We’ll see how it goes.”
As Flick said, Yamal’s injury is very tricky because it’s not a muscle issue like a hamstring or calf that has a clear timetable for treatment and return depending on the severity. A pubic injury is about pain tolerance and freedom of movement, and sometimes you can feel fully recovered only to realize the problem has not gone away as soon as the body is exposed to higher intensity.
Cesc Fàbregas revealed in the past that he dealt with the same injury for 8 straight months in his final Barcelona season a decade ago so this is not something that will go away easily for Lamine, and he, Barça, and Spain must be very careful with his recovery and playing time.
