Lamine Yamal has suffered a hamstring injury and will miss the rest of the season, but his club FC Barcelona said on Thursday that he is expected to be fit in time for the upcoming World Cup.“Tests have confirmed that first team player Lamine Yamal has a hamstring injury in his left leg,” Barcelona said.Spain begin their Group H campaign against Cape Verde on June 15, followed by matches against Saudi Arabia on June 21 and Uruguay six days later.Yamal picked up the injury in Barcelona’s 1-0 win over Celta Vigo in La Liga on Wednesday.“This injury will keep me off the field at a time when I wanted to be there the most and it hurts more than words can express,” Yamal wrote on social media.“This is not the end, it’s just a break. I will come back stronger, with even more determination than ever and next season will be better.”The 18-year-old, who has scored six goals in 25 appearances for Spain since his debut in 2023, won the match and scored a penalty to seal the result.After turning the free-kick past Ionut Radu, Yamal went down to seek treatment and remained on the ground as teammates came to celebrate.He was later substituted and replaced by Roony Bardghji.“He wouldn’t leave the pitch without reason,” Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said. “As a coach you have to deal with it, you have to live with it. It’s a shame that Lamine is injured now.”Barcelona’s win moved them nine points clear of Real Madrid at the top of the table with six games remaining, including the Clasico on May 10.Yamal is the club’s top scorer this season with 24 goals, despite missing games in September and October with a groin problem.He was also part of the Spain squad that won Euro 2024 and recently spoke about his goal to play at the World Cup.
