Yamal included in Spain's World Cup squad despite hamstring injury uncertainty

Lamine Yamal has been named in Luis de la Fuente’s 26-man Spain squad for the 2026 World Cup, but the extent of his involvement remains uncertain after the Barcelona winger suffered a hamstring injury that has kept him out of action since April 22.

The injury occurred in the immediate aftermath of Yamal converting a penalty against Celta Vigo — the winning goal in what proved to be another La Liga title-winning campaign for Barcelona. Seconds after scoring, the 18-year-old signalled to the bench and went to ground, prompting fears of a serious tear to his left hamstring. A full tear would typically require a recovery timeline of up to eight weeks, with no guarantee of match sharpness thereafter.

Barcelona moved quickly to manage expectations, confirming the diagnosis while expressing confidence he would be fit in time. “Tests have confirmed that first-team player Lamine Yamal has suffered a hamstring injury in his left leg,” the club said in a statement. “The player will follow a conservative treatment plan. He will miss the remainder of the league season but is expected to be available for the World Cup.” Manager Hansi Flick echoed that assessment.

The hamstring setback was not the only injury to disrupt Yamal’s season. He also missed five matches at the start of the campaign due to pubalgia — a chronic groin condition, sometimes referred to as a sports hernia, that also affected Chelsea’s Cole Palmer for much of 2025-26. The problem tends to afflict athletes who make explosive directional changes, and younger players transitioning into first-team football can be particularly susceptible.

Yamal’s fitness had already become a source of friction between club and country earlier in the season, after he aggravated the groin issue while on international duty with Spain in September.

Despite the disruption, Yamal’s inclusion in the squad underlines his importance to La Roja’s ambitions. He announced himself on the international stage at Euro 2024 and, at 18, was widely expected to be one of the defining figures of this summer’s tournament. Whether Spain can call on him at full capacity — particularly as the competition reaches its later stages — remains the central question surrounding one of the world’s most closely watched young players.