Why De la Fuente had included Lamine Yamal in Spain squad despite knowing about injury – report | OneFootball

On Friday, FC Barcelona confirmed that Lamine Yamal would be out for two to three weeks after suffering a recurrence of the pubic discomfort that had sidelined him last month.

It meant that the 18-year-old winger will not be available to face Sevilla in La Liga on Sunday and will miss Spain’s upcoming matches against Georgia and Bulgaria.

Details of the conversation between Lamine and Luis de la Fuente

It must be noted that Lamine had been included in the Spain squad by manager Luis de la Fuente, which was announced on Friday, before the youngster’s withdrawal later in the night due to pubic discomfort.

Now, according to Mundo Deportivo, De la Fuente was already aware of Lamine’s condition even before he announced the Spain squad list on Friday.

Indeed, De la Fuente personally called the Barcelona prodigy on Thursday, a day before announcing his squad list, and had been made aware of the situation after the 18-year-old ended the game vs PSG with severe discomfort.

The coach informed Ballon d’Or runner-up that he would not be involved in the matches with La Roja but explained that, as long as Barça had not issued an official statement, his duty was to include him in the list so that the RFEF’s medical team could assess him at Las Rozas.

Lamine was called up to Spain squad before being withdrawn. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images for Qatar Airways)

If he would be unfit, as the player himself indicated, he would then return to Barcelona.

This procedure was conditional on Barcelona not releasing a medical report beforehand. However, the club did not do so: neither after the match against PSG nor on Thursday. Nor did they send the requested medical report to Las Rozas that day.

As a result, De la Fuente named Yamal in his squad despite knowing that he would be unable to face Sevilla due to ongoing pubic discomfort.

Finally, late on Friday evening, the RFEF announced Yamal’s withdrawal after finally receiving Barcelona’s medical report, which confirmed the pubic discomfort.

Constant communication

Throughout the week, there had been several contacts between Barcelona and the RFEF.

Barcelona sporting director, Deco, spoke on more than one occasion with Aitor Karanka, the RFEF sporting director for men’s football.

Initially, that chat was to settle the controversy following the exchange of comments between Hansi Flick and De la Fuente, and later to discuss the status of the players eligible for the squad. The latest conversations took place this week.