The strides Lamine Yamal has made thus far since breaking into the Barcelona team are practically unheard of.
Cementing himself as not just one of Barcelona’s best forwards, but one of the most in-form youngsters in Europe has unsurprisingly seen him rack up consistent playtime.
Yet, even with all his promises, Yamal is still a teenager, and his body has its limits.
Ahead of Barcelona’s upcoming clash with Real Sociedad at Anoeta, SPORT has reported that Yamal is now dealing with muscular overload.
Consequently, Hansi Flick has decided to rest the young sensation, prioritizing his long-term fitness over the immediate demands of this challenging fixture.
Even though Barcelona have historically struggled at the Anoeta and needed a last-minute winner by Ronald Araujo to salvage victory the last time the Catalans played here, Flick is in no mood to rush the 17-year-old into action.
A recurring presence in the starting XI
Yamal has featured in all 12 of Barcelona’s league matches this season, with only one brief respite against Osasuna, where he was benched but still entered in the second half.
Most recently, he also played the full 90 minutes against Red Star Belgrade.
He has also frequently contributed to the Spanish international team, which makes his muscular overload hardly a bolt from the blue.
Time will soon tell what route the German manager takes, but it will be interesting to see how Barcelona fare in the absence of their magician.
While Yamal has also been called up by the Spanish national team, Barcelona would be hoping that his exclusion tonight compels Spain to leave him out for the upcoming international break.
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