“We have to wait” 

©IMAGO

Barcelona’s 1-0 victory over Celta Vigo kept the Spanish giants top of the LaLiga table with a comfortable nine-point gap over rivals Real Madrid, but the result and all three points were somewhat overshadowed by a serious-looking injury to star player Lamine Yamal. After scoring the only goal of the game from the penalty spot, the Spain international then fell to the floor clutching his leg and was soon ushered off the pitch.

“We have to wait,” Barca coach Hansi Flick said after the game. “We have to see what it is. There is something. He felt it. After the goal, he would not leave the pitch without reason. So it’s something. Something happened. Hopefully it’s not so bad, but we have to wait until tomorrow.” A report from ESPN indicated that the injury may in fact be worse than first feared. The publication understands that Yamal may have torn his hamstring, which would likely rule the forward out of the rest of the season and jeopardise his involvement in the coming World Cup in North America.

The news will come as a devastating blow to the club and especially the player, with Yamal enjoying a fantastic season in front of goal. The 18-year-old talent’s penalty on Wednesday night was his 24th goal of the season in all competitions. When coupled with his 18 assists in all competitions, it takes Yamal’s total contributions for the season to a remarkable 42. Not only is that just one short of what he achieved across the entirety of last season, but it’s also considerably higher than any other player in Yamal’s age group.

Indeed, as we can see in the table above, Yamal’s 42 goals and assists in 45 games for Barcelona means that he’s not only the player aged 19 or younger with the most goal contributions for a player at a club in Europe’s top five leagues, but that he actually has twice that of the next best player. In second place is RB Leipzig star Yan Diomande, with 21 goals and assists in 32 games, followed by Bayern Munich winger Lennart Karl on 16 goals and assists in 35 games.

Such form has naturally made Yamal crucial to Barcelona’s success this season. In the league campaign, the academy graduate accounts for no fewer than 33% of his side’s total goals, with that number standing at 31% in their Champions League campaign and rising to as high as 44% in the Copa del Rey. And if Yamal has suffered as severe an injury as first reported, he’ll undoubtedly leave a hole in Flick’s team that simply can’t be filled.

That could prove disastrous to the conclusion of Barcelona’s season. Although the Catalan giants have already been knocked out of the Spanish Cup and Champions League, their nine-point lead at the top of LaLiga could be cut down to six if they lose to Real Madrid in El Clasico on May 10. And, should they falter in their other remaining league games without Yamal’s goals and assists, it could lead to a very nervy end to the season for Flick and his squad.