Lamine Yamal‘s latest injury at FC Barcelona sent alarm bells ringing, raising fears that he could miss not only the end of the club season but the entire 2026 World Cup. Now cleared to join Spain‘s squad and expected to feature in the tournament, the 18-year-old has opened up about the moment of the injury, revealing he “was afraid I could miss the World Cup.”
The scare came during Barcelona’s La Liga match against Celta Vigo on April 22, when Yamal sustained a biceps femoris injury in his left leg immediately after converting a penalty to open the scoring. The injury forced him to sit out the remainder of Barcelona’s season, though medical evaluations ultimately confirmed it would not rule him out of the World Cup.
In a video released by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, Yamal walked through the moment it happened: “I remember the sequence when I got injured. I was praying inside that it would be nothing, that it would just be a cramp or anything, because I could see the World Cup moment was so close and I knew it was a hamstring injury—which I had never had before, but I knew it wouldn’t be a short recovery time.“
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The young forward also spoke to the emotional weight of those first moments after the injury. “So I was afraid it would be serious and, above all, that even if it wasn’t serious, I might relapse and could miss the World Cup… You’re going to play in a World Cup and your mind is as if you hadn’t played a single match all season. I really want to be able to make my debut,” he assured.
Lamine Yamal suffered a muscle injury while playing for Barcelona on April 22.
As a result of the injury, Yamal will miss the pre-tournament friendlies against Iraq and Peru, as well as Spain’s opening group stage game. La Roja face Cape Verde on Monday, June 15, with Yamal still expected to be in the final stages of his recovery at that point.
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Spain’s remaining Group H fixtures are against Saudi Arabia on June 21 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and Uruguay on June 26 at Estadio Akron in Guadalajara. Yamal is expected to be available for both matches, giving him the chance to make his World Cup debut at a critical stage of the group phase.
The player who became the youngest ever to win a European Championship back in 2024 has rapidly established himself as one of the most important figures in Luis de la Fuente’s Spain side. Now preparing for his first World Cup, the expectations are sky-high, including from Yamal himself.
Singling out teammates such as Rodri, Mikel Oyarzabal, Pedri and Marc Cucurella among the reasons for his confidence, Yamal made clear that he and his teammates are arriving with championship intentions: “The moment has finally arrived. I think ever since the Euros ended, we were all thinking about this day coming, and we are all very excited. We arrive as the national team that we are, as the champions of Europe, and we will go all out.“