Lamine Yamal will miss Spain’s UEFA Nations League matches against Denmark and Switzerland, as the team pursues the point they need to lead the group ahead of the quarterfinals scheduled for March 2025.

Why isn’t Lamine Yamal playing?

The young FC Barcelona player was ruled out of the match against Real Sociedad after sustaining a "Grade 1 injury to the syndesmosis in his right ankle," according to Barcelona. This setback is expected to keep him sidelined for two to three weeks.

Good news for Barcelona

Lamine Yamal's injury coincides with the last international break of the year, which will limit the number of matches he misses for Barça. The club’s next game is against Celta de Vigo in Balaídos on November 23, two weeks after he was first ruled out. If his recovery progresses well, he might return for that match, though the club is cautious and won't rush him back. If he isn’t ready, he may also miss the Champions League game against Brest on November 26 and the league match against Las Palmas on November 30.

What did Luis de la Fuente say about Yamal’s injury?

Spanish national coach Luis de la Fuente explained in Las Rozas that, after receiving medical reports from Barcelona, it was best for Lamine Yamal to remain with his club. "Barcelona sent us the relevant report, and we found it appropriate that he didn’t travel here just to repeat that process, which wasn’t necessary,” De la Fuente said.

“I wish him a speedy recovery,” the coach added regarding the young Barcelona star’s Grade 1 syndesmosis injury, which prevented him from playing against Real Sociedad. To replace him, De la Fuente has called up Bryan Gil from Girona for the Nations League matches against Denmark in Copenhagen and Switzerland at Tenerife’s Heliodoro Rodríguez López Stadium.

On Morata’s status

Regarding Milan’s Álvaro Morata, who was hospitalized last Thursday after a head injury in training, De la Fuente said that the player "is undergoing tests and, unless something new arises, he’ll be with us.”

“So far, we have no news of any issues with Morata’s tests. He was doing well as of Friday and Saturday,” he said, though noting that the situation could change.