Lamine Yamal injury: Barcelona winger's potential return date

A 1-0 defeat to Real Sociedad was perhaps not the greatest concern of Barcelona's heading into the international break, with Hansi Flick offering a far-from-positive update regarding the injury status of Lamine Yamal.

Despite being on the wrong end of a questionable semi-automated offside decision which ruled out a first-half Robert Lewandowski goal, Barcelona were comfortably second-best in San Sebastian as they succumbed to their second league defeat of the season.

Kopa Trophy victor Yamal was absent for Sunday night's game, and Barca doubtlessly lacked the 17-year-old's genius down the right flank. Flick has mitigated an endless injury list superbly this term, but Yamal's absence proved to be one injury too far.

The young Spaniard quickly overcame a hamstring issue in October, but he's currently dealing with a new injury setback and a timeframe for his return has not yet been laid out.

Here's the latest on Yamal's injury heading into the November international break.

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What injury does Lamine Yamal have?

It was confirmed over the weekend that Yamal was going to miss Barca's trip to the Anoeta due to the knock he sustained during the La Liga leaders' Champions League triumph over Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday night.

While Hansi Flick offered little detail on the teenager's injury after Sunday's defeat, Barcelona have since revealed that Yamal is dealing with a "grade 1 syndesmosis injury in his right ankle."

The syndesmosis, by the way, is a fibrous joint that connects the tibia and fibula two bones with ligaments and a strong membrane, allowing for little movement and providing stability to both the leg and ankle.

When will Lamine Yamal return from injury?

Yamal's ankle injury has seen him withdraw from the Spain squad for their upcoming UEFA Nations League fixtures against Denmark and Switzerland.

When asked about a potential return date for the teenager, Hansi Flick could not provide an answer: "I'm not sure," he retorted. "I hope we can find out more about his condition today. But we don't have anything clear. As soon as we know, we will let you know."

In their latest injury update, the club believe that the winger will be out for no more than two to three weeks.

Barca are once again on their travels after the break as they take on mid-table Celta Vigo on 23 November before welcoming surprise-package Brest to Catalonia for their fifth Champions League duel of the league phase. The games continue to arrive thick and fast for the Blaugrana, and anything but a minor setback for Yamal would likely see him miss multiple fixtures.

Before Sunday's defeat, the winger had started 11 of Barca's 12 La Liga outings and recorded 12 goal contributions.

Who could replace Lamine Yamal in the Barcelona team?

Flick opted to utilise Fermin Lopez out wide in Yamal's absence, but the Olympic gold medallist did not enjoy his evening in San Sebastian and it's unlikely we'll see Fermin shunted into the role again if Yamal remains out of action after the international break.

Ferran Torres is a more natural replacement, but he's currently out injured, while Flick has invigorated Raphinha's Barcelona career by playing him down the left where he's tasked with running in behind focal point Lewandowski. He is, however, an option for the German down the opposite flank.

Ansu Fati has re-emerged in Catalonia but is not yet a key spoke in the Flick wheel, while Pau Victor enjoyed a bright pre-season but has been used sparingly in La Liga at the start of the 2024/25 season.

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