Yamal’s Hamstring Scare Fades as Spain Reaches the Quarterfinals

Luis de la Fuente admitted he feared Lamine Yamal would miss the World Cup entirely. Ten weeks later, the Barcelona winger leads every player at the tournament in dribbling, and Spain is one win from the semifinals.

That fear traced back to an April hamstring tear that nearly ended his first World Cup before it started. Now Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois is the one building a gameplan around stopping him.

A Penalty in Vigo Triggered the Alarm

Yamal went down clutching his left leg in the 40th minute of Barcelona’s 1-0 win over Celta Vigo on April 22, moments after converting the game’s only goal from the penalty spot. He limped off with medical staff and was replaced by Roony Bardghji.

Barcelona confirmed the next day that tests had found a hamstring injury in his left leg, a partial tear of the biceps femoris, the main hamstring muscle, and that the club would follow a conservative treatment plan rather than surgery. Barcelona manager Hansi Flick later added a detail that got lost in the panic: Yamal had initially gone down clutching his hamstring after converting a penalty in Barça’s win over Celta Vigo on April 22, and Flick revealed the teenager had picked up the injury when he was fouled in the move which led to the spot kick.

Yamal was ruled out for the rest of the season with Barça, missing the May 10 Clásico when they won LaLiga against Real Madrid. Barcelona had a nine point lead over Real Madrid at the time, a cushion big enough to survive losing their best attacker for the run-in.

A Recovery Timeline Full of Question Marks

Hamstring strains are graded from minor to severe, and such injuries are grouped into three grades of minor, moderate or severe strain or tear, with recovery periods ranging from one week to six months. Barcelona never said which grade Yamal had. All anyone had was a target: be ready by June 15.

Initial projections suggested a recovery period of six to eight weeks, a timeline that would have left Yamal racing the clock for the World Cup, though he ended up outperforming that estimate. Spain’s coaching staff still refused to rush him.

We were very worried. Because we saw it was an injury that could not keep him out for three months, or even two, but that month and a half could certainly be extended.

De la Fuente told Spanish outlet AS, reflecting on how close the squad came to planning a World Cup without its brightest attacker.

Yamal has since described his own version of that dread. He said he was afraid that it was something serious or that it could relapse and cost him the tournament, speaking in an interview with the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF). Doctors outside the camp were blunter about the risk. Medical expert Pedro Luis Ripoll, a FIFA-certified physician, said Yamal’s comeback would have to be very careful because the injury carries a 30 percent recurrence rate. We have to be extremely cautious with the recovery timeline, Ripoll told El Larguero, via Cadena SER.

Barcelona Capped His Comeback at Fifteen Minutes

As the calendar closed in on kickoff, Barcelona and Spain’s medical staff, including Barca physio Fernando Galán, settled on a phased return rather than a single fitness test. According to AS, the plan looked like this:

• Cape Verde, the opener: Barcelona advised Spain only to use Yamal for 15 minutes at the most.
• Saudi Arabia, game two: if there were no setbacks, Barcelona recommended he play between 45 and 60 minutes.
• Uruguay, the group finale: Barcelona indicated he could be ready to start.

Reality landed close to the script. Spain drew 0-0 with Cape Verde despite 27 shots and an expected goals reading of 2.29 to the debutants’ 0.29. Yamal came on in the 71st minute and was only fit enough to play for about 30 minutes. His impact was instant, beating a defender with his first touch and creating a chance, but it came too late to change the result.

Without him for the first 70 minutes, De la Fuente started Gavi on the left and Ferran Torres on the right, leaning on fullbacks Marc Cucurella and Marcos Llorente for width instead. Torres, a Barcelona forward Paris Saint-Germain have also scouted as contingency cover if Bradley Barcola leaves this summer, could not offer the same penetration. Cucurella, who has spent this tournament fielding questions about his own Chelsea future, ended up doing more of the attacking down the flank than either winger. De la Fuente was blunt afterward.

We’re sure in the next game the team will do better, the coach said once the final whistle confirmed how much Spain had missed its own teenager.

Spain Has Run This Play Before

None of this caution was new. De la Fuente pointed to a near identical dilemma two years earlier, when a different attacker arrived at a major tournament under a physical cloud.

He arrived at the Euro 2024 training camp almost injured, which is unpredictable, the coach admitted. We were close to leaving him out, and then Dani Olmo proved to be a key player in that tournament, De la Fuente said, explaining why he was willing to gamble again on Yamal.

Yamal’s own body has tested that patience repeatedly. Three separate injuries have hit him in a little over a year.

The pubalgia stretch alone cost Barcelona five matches across September and October and cost Spain four internationals. The ankle issue the season before that cost him five Barca fixtures and three caps. None of it has slowed his output. Yamal made 45 appearances across all competitions this season, his third full campaign with Barcelona’s senior team. He finished it with 24 goals and 18 assists in all competitions before the injury cut the year short.

Is Lamine Yamal Fully Fit for Belgium?

Not entirely, by his own admission, though he says he can play however many minutes De la Fuente wants. He has climbed from a half hour cameo against Cape Verde to leading every player at the tournament in dribbling, and Belgium is already planning around him specifically.

After the Cape Verde draw, Yamal ruled out starting against Saudi Arabia too. I’m fine, I feel good, but it’s still too soon, he told Spanish network RTVE. He also noted that teammate Nico Williams, also nursing a hamstring problem of his own, looked further along in his recovery at that point than he did.

Barcelona star Lamine Yamal is currently leading all players at the 2026 World Cup in dribbling, a category that rewards exactly the explosive, close-control running his hamstring is supposed to protect against. That form has not gone unnoticed in the opposite camp. Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has already explained how Belgium hopes to contain Yamal ahead of the quarterfinal.

Yamal will keep delivering for Spain, teammate Dani Olmo said ahead of the meeting with Belgium. Off the pitch, Yamal has generated a lighter storyline of his own this tournament too, turning a bandaged hand into a pledge aimed at Spain’s next generation of players, a small sign of how differently he is carrying himself now compared with the teenager who once said he was praying his injury was nothing worse than a cramp.

What We Know

• Yamal has increased his minutes with every appearance since the Cape Verde draw.
• He currently leads every player at the World Cup in dribbling.
• Courtois has built part of Belgium’s gameplan specifically around stopping him.

What’s Unconfirmed

• Whether De la Fuente starts him against Belgium or saves him for another late introduction.
• How many minutes his hamstring can safely take in a knockout game that could run to extra time.
• Whether the 30 percent recurrence risk doctors flagged in June still applies now that he is fully training.

The team that once worried Yamal would not play a single minute at his first World Cup is now the one deciding how many he gets in a quarterfinal.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Caused Lamine Yamal’s Hamstring Injury?

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick said the injury actually happened when Yamal was fouled in the buildup to the penalty he converted against Celta Vigo, not on the kick itself. Tests confirmed a partial tear of the biceps femoris, and the club chose conservative treatment over surgery.

Did Yamal Start Any of Spain’s World Cup Group Games?

He did not start the tournament opener against Cape Verde, entering as a substitute in the 71st minute. Ahead of the second group game against Saudi Arabia, he said starting a full match was still unnecessary while his hamstring finished healing, and pointed out that Nico Williams, also recovering from a hamstring issue, was further along than he was.

How Big a Star Is Yamal Heading Into the Quarterfinal?

He was named Young Player of the Tournament at Euro 2024 and finished runner-up for the 2025 Ballon d’Or. His popularity in the United States has been evident throughout the tournament, with an advertisement of his image towering over Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, where Spain played its opener.

What Other Injuries Have Hit Spain’s Squad?

Yamal was not Spain’s only fitness worry. Barcelona midfielder Fermín López was ruled out of the tournament entirely, adding to Spain’s swathe of attacking injuries. Nico Williams and Victor Munoz were also being closely monitored by the medical staff heading into the opener.

Why Are Hamstring Injuries So Risky for Wingers Like Yamal?

Explosive wide players who depend heavily on pace and acceleration carry a higher risk of hamstring recurrence than most positions, which is exactly why both club and country stuck to a cautious approach. It is also why Spain built a staggered, minutes-capped reintroduction instead of simply waiting for one clean fitness test.