MADRID (AP) — Spain removed Lamine Yamal on Tuesday ahead of two World Cup qualifying matches as the star forward underwent further treatment for a lingering groin injury.
The Spanish Football Federation said it had received notification from Barcelona that Yamal had undergone “invasive radiofrequency treatment for discomfort in the pubic bone.”
The federation said Yamal, 18, will be sidelined for seven to 10 days as a result of the treatment and will miss Spain’s match in Georgia on Saturday and the home match against Turkey three days later.
But the federation added that it was “surprised and upset” to be informed of Yamal’s condition on Monday, when he and his Spain team-mates were supposed to have gathered at Madrid’s training ground.
Yamal injured his groin while playing for Spain in September. Since then, his pubic pain, a chronic groin injury, has been a point of contention between club and national team.
In September, Barcelona’s manager Hansi Flick criticizes Spain Flick said he was unhappy with Yamal playing for unnecessary minutes during two easy wins in World Cup qualifying.
In response to Flick’s comments, the federation said it had not received any communication from Barcelona about Yamal’s injury and that the national team’s medical personnel were in frequent contact with the club.
Due to a groin problem, Yamal missed five games for Barcelona and two more World Cup qualifiers with Spain. He then returned to the field and appeared in six games for Barcelona up until this international break.
___
AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
