Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal will reportedly be unavailable for Spain's opening two World Cup group fixtures this summer due to the hamstring injury he sustained last month.
Yamal, 18, is currently battling to be fit for the tournament as he recovers from a hamstring problem in his left leg that he picked up while scoring a penalty during the LaLiga champions' 1-0 win over Celta Vigo at the back end of April.
And now it is believed that Yamal will not only be absent from Spain's opening group stage match on 15 June against Cape Verde, but also their clash with Saudi Arabia six days later.
This is according to sources close to The Athletic, who say it is unlikely we will see Yamal in action at the World Cup until Luis de la Fuente's European champions face Uruguay on 26 June.
The young winger, who will turn 19 years old a week prior to the final, is central to his country's World Cup aspirations, having played a crucial role during their Euro 2024 triumph, but his injury left officials sweating over his availability.
Barcelona and the Spanish Football Association are understood to be in regular contact, with the national governing body keen to keep tabs on Yamal's progress as they hope he will be fit enough to play a part in their bid to become World champions for the second time.
Yamal has been forced to watch Barcelona's final run of games from the sideline after suffering a hamstring tear, including their 2-0 El Clásico victory, which saw them secure the Spanish top-flight title over rivals Real Madrid.
The typical return time for a muscle tear injury varies. For a grade one tear, just days can pass before a player can return. Grade two typically requires around three weeks of recovery, and a grade three tear can take three months or more to come back from.
Should the rest of his recovery go as planned, while he may miss the opening two games, Yamal is still expected to make the Spain squad that is headed to the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Two players that won't be heading to North America, though, are former captain and vice-captain, Alvaro Morata and Dani Carvajal, who have both been omitted from De la Fuente's provisional 55-man squad.
Morata, 33, was the skipper as Spain won the European Championship in 2024, only missing the final against England through an injury he had picked up after the semi-final victory against France. But two years on, Morata, who is on loan at Serie A side Como 1907 from AC Milan, has seen his dreams of lifting the World Cup crushed. This is according to Spanish media outlet Diario AS.
Neither Morata, Carvajal, nor fellow former vice-captain Jesus Navas made the list, which will be cut down to 26 players ahead of the summer. None of the trio have featured for the national team since September, with Morata only managing 17 minutes off the bench against Turkey during this season's first international break.
Carvajal's absence is likely due to another injury-plagued season. The veteran full-back has been struggling with a fractured toe, and De la Fuente recently stated that the Madrid man 'needs time to show' his fitness levels before he made a decision on selection. But it seems like the defender hasn't managed to recover in time.
