Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has revealed that Lamine Yamal will miss his side’s Champions League meeting with Brest this week, but expects the winger to be available for domestic duty on Saturday.
The teenage phenomenon injured his right ankle towards the end of the comfortable Barcelona Champions League victory over Estrella Roja in early November. Yamal was forced to withdraw from the Spanish national team for the second consecutive month and has sat out BarcelonaThe last two outings, which have seen the club drop points.
Yamal failed Barcelona draw 2-2 with Celta de Vigo on Saturday night after a report reverse injury but Flick was optimistic the 17-year-old would return to the squad next weekend.
Speaking to the media ahead of Barcelona’s European tie against Brest on Tuesday, Flick revealed: “I think this could be the last game he misses. Saturday could be an option from the bench.”
While Flick has wanted to minimize the team’s reliance on a teenager still wearing braces, challenging others to step up in his absence, Barcelona’s results with and without Yamal paint an unflattering picture.
The Catalan giants have won 14 out of 15 games with their prodigy in the starting eleven – they have only lost to Monaco while playing with ten men for 80 minutes. Yamal still scored in that European qualifier. without the young man with an impossible talent in the starting eleven, Barcelona have recorded two defeats and a draw in three days.
Veteran centre-back Inigo Martinez was asked about Yamal’s impact at the same Champions League press conference. “We know how important it is, I won’t deny it,” admitted the man 16 years older than his partner. “He’s very unbalancing and pushes back the opponent’s defensive line. He creates a lot of fear. He’s vital, but that doesn’t mean whoever replaces him isn’t up to the task.
“Everyone who comes tries to give 100 or 200%. Lamine is Lamine, we don’t have him now and that doesn’t mean that just because he’s not here we can’t win. We have to focus on the ones we have. There’s enough of a team to win all matches
