Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal will return to action in Sunday’s LaLiga match against Real Sociedad after missing four games with a groin injury, manager Hansi Flick said.
The 18-year-old Spaniard won the Kopa Trophy at Monday’s Ballon d’Or ceremony, becoming the first man to win the award for the world’s best Under-21 player two years in a row.
Read about innovative ideas and the people working on solutions to global crises with the Reuters Beacon newsletter. Sign up here.
“Whether Lamine is on the bench or starting, the team is ready. Lamine will definitely get some minutes tomorrow,” Flick told reporters on Saturday.
Barcelona’s injury list includes forward Raphinha, sidelined for around three weeks with a hamstring problem, goalkeeper Joan Garcia and midfielder Gavi.
Close season signing Garcia, 24 had started every game this season. Marc-Andre ter Stegen remains sidelined following back surgery and Wojciech Szczesny will take over in goal.
“It’s not good to have Joan Garcia absent, he was performing well,” Flick said of the keeper who made crucial saves in their 2-1 Champions League win over Newcastle United.
“When we look at the second half of last season, we see that we won almost every match with Szczęsny. We won three titles with him. He’s a great goalkeeper, a great person, and I have no doubts about him.
“We are also working on addressing the issue of injuries, and we see some reasons that might have led to the injuries. We are a big team, we review all cases and we have to adapt to this.”
Champions Barcelona are unbeaten this season, while Sociedad have won once in six league games, losing three in a row before Wednesday’s 1-0 home victory over Mallorca.
REUTERS
