Lamine Yamal left Barcelona's win over Celta Vigo on Wednesday with an apparent hamstring injury, raising concerns about his ability to finish out the season with his club and his availability for this summer's World Cup with Spain. Early in the process of diagnosing the injury, the club fear he suffered a torn hamstring, per ESPN.
The 18-year-old started and scored the game's lone goal, a penalty in the 40th minute. He immediately fell to the ground and appeared to reach for his left hamstring, receiving medical attention on the pitch for several minutes. He eventually limped off the field with the help of the medical staff as Roony Bardghji came on in his place in the second minute of first half stoppage time.
The official specifics of Yamal's injury are unclear at this time; head coach Hansi Flick was unable to offer much of an update before the player undergoes tests on Thursday.
"We have to wait," Flick said post-match. "We have to see what it is. There is something. He felt it. After the goal, he would not leave the pitch without reason. So it's something. Something happened. Hopefully it's not so bad, but we have to wait until tomorrow."
Barcelona's title hopes are unlikely to depend on Yamal's availability to finish out the season. They currently boast a nine-point lead over Real Madrid with seven games to go, Yamal notching 16 goals and 11 assists in league play so far. Though it is too early to speculate on the severity of Yamal's injury, concern immediately shifted to the World Cup this summer, where Spain are amongst the favorites to win the tournament.
Yamal is slated to be the focal point of Spain's stay in North America this summer, but the road to his first World Cup has been marred by short-term injuries over the season. There have been concerns that the 18-year-old is dealing with the impact of fixture congestion, the phenom thrust into a demanding career at the age of 16 with limited consideration for the physical load of games that come thick and fast.
Barcelona and Spain engaged in a war of words on the topic last November, when the national team released Yamal for a pair of World Cup qualifiers with a groin issue. The issue stemmed from a dispute that began two months earlier, when Barcelona argued that Spain mismanaged his fitness issues.