Barcelona announced Monday that Lamine Yamal suffered a grade 1 ankle ligament injury against CD Leganes and will be out for three to four weeks.
Yamal was substituted in the 75th minute for Gavi as the Catalans chased an equalizer. Barcelona ended up losing the game dropping points for the fifth time in their last six league games. Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid have the opportunity to jump Barcelona in the standings given both sides have a game in hand.
The injury comes at a terrible time for Hansi Flick's side as fatigue sets in. A team that looked unstoppable in Europe and Spain has become vulnerable. Losing Yamal for any period of time stings, but Flick will need to figure how to efficiently rotate his squad given their run of results.
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Barcelona faces Atletico Madrid next with Diego Simeone's side in strong form. Atleti has won its last 11 games in all competitions sitting tied with Barcelona for the top spot in the league with a game in hand. Atleti has the joint-best defense in LaLiga so far with just 11 goals conceded, same as Real Sociedad. Barcelona's league best attack needs to solve the Atleti puzzle if they want to remain atop the table.
Looking ahead, Barcelona won't have to play its best players in the Champions League for the rest of the league phase since they've already secured a spot in the knockout stage. Such is the benefit of accumulating 15 points from a possible 18 so far. But, a first round bye isn't secured yet.
Yamal shouldn't be rushed back to ensure he makes a full recovery for the second half of the season. He's already missed time this season through injury. Otherwise, Flick runs the risk of a more severe injury that hampers a squad already overplayed with a congested match schedule.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Barcelona's Lamine Yamal Suffers Another Injury Setback.
