Barcelona manager Hansi Flick spoke about Lamine Yamal in a press conference on Wednesday after the teenager finish second to Ousmane Dembele in the Ballon d’Or voting, and also revealed Lamine is getting closer to returning from injury.
The coach said Yamal “is fine” after the disappointment of not winning the award on Monday, but Flick thinks Yamal will use it as motivation to get better and prove he’s one of the best players in the world. Hansi also said Lamine has trained well in the last two
days, and will be ready to return soon from the groin injury that’s forced him to miss the last three games.
“Yesterday I spoke with him and he is fine. It is a motivation not to have won the Ballon d’Or for the next few years. Dembélé deserved it. Lamine has accepted it willingly, he is motivated to prove that he is good. Maybe next season he will be a candidate. I value having many candidates in the team.
“When will he return? Soon, yesterday and today he has trained well, things look good.”
Yamal will not be in the squad for the trip to Real Oviedo on Thursday, but it looks more and more likely he will be ready for the monster Champions League clash against PSG next week and could even come back against Real Sociedad at the weekend.
