Lamine Yamal has expressed his delight at being back fit again after a frustrating period with a groin injury. The 18-year-old missed Barcelona's games against Valencia, Newcastle United, Getafe and Real Oviedo in recent weeks but his time on the sidelines appears to be over. The winger declared he is "back" on Instagram, potentially paving the way for him to return to Hansi Flick's side.
Barcelona receive Yamal boost
The Spain international has not featured for Barca since before the September international break but his team have fared well enough without him, registering four straight victories. But on Friday, the teenager posted an Instagram reel of some of his career highlights and wrote: "Hey, I'm back."
AdvertisementGetty Images SportFlick criticises Spain over Yamal injury
Yamal picked up the groin injury earlier this month, but still joined up with the Spanish national team. The youngster then aggravated that problem while playing for his country, prompting Barca boss Flick to accuse La Roja of not taking care of their young players.
He said earlier this month: "Lamine goes to the national team with pain, didn't train, had painkillers to play, they were three goals ahead in every match, and he played 79 and 73 minutes. Between the matches, he didn't train. This is not taking care of players. Spain have the best team in the world, in every position they are unbelievably good. I am really sad about this [situation]."
The former Bayern Munich manager also admitted the communication he has with Spain boss Luis de la Fuente could be better.
"I never really spoke with [De la Fuente]," he added. "Maybe my Spanish is not good, his English is not good, so this is a problem. Normally, the communication, because we have more players there than just Lamine, could be better. I was also on this side as a national team coach, so I know how hard this job sometimes is, but the communication with the clubs was always good."
Spain boss dismisses Flick's Yamal concerns
Despite having his groin complaint, Yamal played in Spain's World Cup qualifying wins against Bulgaria and Turkey earlier this month. Following those victories, De la Fuente said he neither remembered nor cared about Flick's complaints.
He stated, "Right now, I don't remember what Flick said. Neither is it of any interest to me."
GettyWill Yamal return for Barcelona straight away?
With Yamal seemingly ready for selection, Flick will have to decide whether to give him some game time against Real Sociedad on Sunday in La Liga as they try to keep pace with top of the table Real Madrid, who are two points clear. The German coach may have an eye on their mouthwatering Champions League clash at home to defending champions Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday. It remains to be seen when Yamal will return.