What injury does Lamine Yamal have? How serious is it and when will he be back?

Lamine Yamal has been ruled out for the rest of the club season after suffering a hamstring injury in Barcelona’s LaLiga win over Celta Vigo on Wednesday.

However, the forward is expected to return in time to play for Spain at this summer’s World Cup, Barça say.

Yamal set for “conservative treatment” on hamstring

In a statement on Thursday, the Blaugrana revealed: “The tests carried out have confirmed that first-team player Lamine Yamal has a hamstring injury in his left leg (biceps femoris muscle). The player will follow a conservative treatment plan. Lamine Yamal will miss the remainder of the season, and he is expected to be available for the World Cup.”

Lamine limps off against Celta

Yamal was forced off late in the first half of Barça’s 1-0 victory at the Spotify Camp Nou on Wednesday, having called for medical attention moments after scoring the game’s winning goal from the penalty spot.

Aware of the potential repercussions of his injury - with only six LaLiga games left for title-chasing Barça, and the World Cup looming - the 18-year-old was visibly upset as he left the field.

Yamal had been enjoying his best stretch of the season. Against Celta, he was once again among Barça’s standout performers - as he showed when he won and converted his 40th-minute penalty.

His goal against the Galicians took him to 24 in all competitions this season, 16 of them in LaLiga. Those numbers will now stand as Yamal’s final tally for 2025/26.

What is Barcelona’s record without Yamal?

Losing Yamal is a major setback for Barça, at precisely the moment they are fighting to clinch the LaLiga championship. Head coach Hansi Flick is deprived of his most penetrative player and the team’s primary source of danger going forward. His absence will be felt most acutely in the upcoming Clásico against Real Madrid on May 10.

However, alongside the fact that they hold a nine-point lead at the top of LaLiga, the good news for Barça is they have shown they can survive without Yamal this season. In 2025/26, they have won almost every match he’s missed - against Valencia, Getafe, Oviedo, Newcastle and Slavia Prague - losing only in Seville.

Last season, by contrast, the team struggled more whenever they were without the teenager. In the 2024/25 campaign, Barça lost to Real Sociedad, Celta and Atlético Madrid without him, although they did win a Copa del Rey tie against Barbastro and a Champions League matchup with Brest.

The challenge facing the rest of the attacking unit is significant. Without Yamal, this is the moment for the collective to step up and secure the title.

When does Spain’s World Cup campaign kick off?

A team that counts Yamal among its leading lights, Spain open up their World Cup campaign in just 54 days’ time, when Luis de la Fuente’s men take on Cape Verde in Atlanta on June 15. Drawn in Group H, La Roja then face Saudi Arabia in Atlanta on June 22, before a June 26 clash with Uruguay in Guadalajara, Mexico. Read more about Yamal’s World Cup race against time.

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