Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal has withdrawn from Spain‘s squad for the upcoming international break and is set for up to three weeks out of action with an ankle injury.
The 17-year-old missed Barça’s 1-0 loss to Real Sociedad on Sunday after picking up the knock in last week’s Champions League win against Red Star Belgrade.
Further tests on Monday revealed he is suffering from a sprained ankle, with Girona winger Bryan Gil called up to take his place in the Spain squad for UEFA Nations League games against Denmark and Switzerland.
Yamal is also likely to miss Barça’s first game back after the international break, away against Celta Vigo in LaLiga on Nov. 23.
Hansi Flick’s side then host French side Brest in the Champions League on Nov. 26 before Las Palmas visit in the league on Nov. 30.
Meanwhile, striker Robert Lewandowski has also withdrawn from international duty with Poland after injuring his back in the defeat at Real Sociedad.
Lewandowski will be out for around 10 days, Barça confirmed in a statement, and will miss his country’s matches against Portugal and Scotland.
Along with Raphinha, Lewandowski and Yamal have helped Barça get off to an impressive start to the season under Flick, who replaced Xavi Hernández as coach in the summer.
Lewandowski has netted 19 times already, with Yamal also weighing in with six goals and eight assists to help Barça climb to the top of LaLiga in addition to winning three of their opening four games in Europe.
However, with Yamal missing, they failed to score for the first time under Flick on Sunday as a seven-game winning streak in all competitions was ended by La Real.
The game swung on a disallowed goal in the first half, with Lewandowski’s 14th-minute strike ruled out for offside by the semi-automated offside technology.
Flick fumed at the decision, saying that it was “wrong” and a “huge mistake.”
