Lamine Yamal has announced he will be back for Barcelona‘s LaLiga fixture against Real Sociedad on Sunday after missing the last four matches with a groin injury.
Yamal, 18, has not featured since before the September international break, missing Barça’s wins against Valencia, Newcastle United, Getafe and Real Oviedo.
“Hey! I’m back,” the Barça forward posted on social media on Friday alongside a video of some of the best moments from his short career so far.
Prior to his injury, Yamal had started the season in fine form, scoring two goals and creating two more in the first three matches of the LaLiga season.
He then set up three more goals in Spain‘s World Cup qualifying wins over Bulgaria and Turkey, but his appearances in those matches did not go down well with Barça coach Hansi Flick.
Yamal had joined up with Spain with a minor groin problem and aggravated the issue while with the national team, with Flick accusing La Roja of not taking care of their young players.
Speaking this week, Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said he wasn’t interested in what Flick thought, with the German coach saying he “can live with that.”
Meanwhile, Barça are sweating over the fitness of Raphinha for the visit of Real Sociedad this weekend.
The Brazilian forward was taken off in the second half of Thursday’s 3-1 win over Oviedo, with Flick saying the move was precautionary and he doesn’t expect a serious injury.
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Raphinha will undergo tests at the training ground on Friday.
Elsewhere, left-back Alejandro Balde is nearing a return to first-team action after recovering from a hamstring injury, but Marc-André ter Stegen and Gavi, who it was announced this week will be out for up to five months, are long-term absentees.
Midfielder Fermín López is also out for the next three weeks after sustaining a muscle injury in the win over Getafe last Sunday.
Barça remain unbeaten through seven games in all competitions this season, with August’s 1-1 draw at Rayo Vallecano the only game they haven’t won, leaving them two points behind early leaders Real Madrid in LaLiga.
