FC Barcelona has been doing terribly lately. In the last six league games, it has won just five points and has lost the advantage over Atletico and Real Madrid. It is difficult to pinpoint the main cause of the crisis, but there is no denying that the Spanish club suffered from the injury of Lamine Yamal, who this season can decide the fate of a given match himself.
New news on Lamine Yamal's injury. Spanish expert reveals
The 17-year-old suffered an ankle injury in early November and was sidelined for a few weeks. It was clearly visible from the results that as soon as he was absent from the team, the team began to do worse and worse. He recently returned to the game, but everything indicates that he was not completely healthy. During Sunday's match against Leganes, he was forced to leave the field prematurely.
FC Barcelona announced that tests carried out on Monday morning showed grade I damage to the anterior intertibial-fibular ligament. The approximate duration of the break from the game will be 3 to 4 weeks. As it turned out, Yamal was in pain after a sharp foul by Yvan Neyou. The incident occurred in the first half, and yet the Spaniard remained on the pitch. Former player and now expert Alvaro Benito revealed that it was not decided to make an earlier change due to the temperature.
– The ankle is usually damaged when it's cold, but it was warm that day. You may not be aware of the problem then, and a few hours later you see that your ankle is swollen due to a sprain – he admitted in the “El Larguero” program. Journalist Rafa Alkorta emphasized that Yamal probably made the decision to stay on the pitch himself. However, he performed poorly, so this “lack of thinking experience should disappear soon.”
The “Sport” daily talked to podiatrist and osteopath Alejandro Bayo, who warns the club not to let the same thing happen to Neymar. – Yamal has almost the same injury as before. I think this ligament was healed then, but it was still weakened. His foot type and build mean this area may be more exposed. The ankle may heal very well, but will still be very susceptible to injury – assessed.
Another defeat of FC Barcelona means that after 18 rounds of La Liga it has the same number of points in the table as Atletico and a point ahead of Real Madrid. However, both teams from the capital have played one match less. Hansi Flick's players will return to the pitch on Saturday, March 21, when they will face Atletico at home.