- Lamine Yamal suffered ankle blow during Leganes defeat
- Barcelona winger carried on playing but was limited
- Test results show extent of fresh damage
Barcelona have confirmed Lamine Yamal could miss up to a month after picking up a fresh ankle injury against Leganes/
It was the first time this season that Barcelona have lost a La Liga game that Yamal has started, highlighting his importance even at such a young age. But a knock to his right ankle relatively early in the contest meant the 17-year-old was just a shadow of his usual self thereafter.
Yamal seemed to signal to the bench during the first half that he wanted to be substituted. But the 2024 Golden Boy winner, receiving his trophy before kick-off, ended up staying on the pitch until he was eventually replaced with 75 minutes gone.
Tests have confirmed Yamal has suffered fresh ligament damage to his ankle, with a timeline of "three to four weeks" put on his recovery.
Coach Hansi Flick was criticised for not making the change sooner, but assistant Marcus Sorg, who was on the touchline in Flick's place while the latter served a suspension, insisted that the decision to continue was Yamal's.
"Lamine decided that he was fine and could continue playing. I cannot say that he is fine, we will have to wait for the medical team to examine him," Sorg told reporters.
The injured ankle is the same one that resulted in Yamal missing five games for Barcelona and Spain in November.
Yamal will miss Saturday's tough test against fellow title hopefuls Atletico Madrid but will benefit from Spanish football's winter break as he looks to recover as soon as possible.
Barcelona are back in action against lower league outfit Barbastro on 4 January, with Yamal highly unlikely to be risked even if he does recover ahead of schedule.
The Catalans then have a trip to Saudi Arabia a few days later for the Supercopa de Espana, where they will face Athletic Club in a semi-final, before a potential final against Real Madrid or Mallorca. La Liga doesn't resume until later in the month when Barca visit Getafe on 19 January.
