Barcelona and Spain winger Lamine Yamal is facing an anxious wait over his fitness for the FIFA World Cup 2026, after suffering a left hamstring injury during a La Liga victory at Camp Nou.

The 18-year-old opened the scoring from the penalty spot in Barcelona's 1-0 win over Celta Vigo on Wednesday, but immediately pulled up after converting the spot-kick and limped off the pitch. Barcelona confirmed on Thursday that Yamal will miss the club's remaining six La Liga fixtures as the Catalan side coast towards a 29th league title.

What the injury means for Spain

Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente is monitoring his star player's condition closely, with the World Cup less than two months away. Reports emerging on Thursday offered some encouragement, however, suggesting the suspected hamstring tear is not expected to rule Yamal out of the tournament entirely — and that he is likely to recover in time to feature in the United States, Canada, and Mexico this summer.

Yamal has been central to Spain's ambitions. He starred as La Roja won the European Championship in 2024, scoring in the tournament and earning the Young Player of the Tournament award. He has since accumulated 25 caps since his debut in 2023, though he missed four of Spain's World Cup qualifiers through injury, featuring only in the first two.

A season of extraordinary numbers

Before his campaign came to a premature end, Yamal had recorded 16 goals and 12 assists across 28 La Liga appearances. He also contributed 10 goal involvements in 10 Champions League matches as Barcelona reached the quarter-finals of the competition.

His goal against Celta Vigo was his latest contribution to a title-winning season — placing the defending champions nine points clear at the top of the table as they near a second successive La Liga crown.

Spain's World Cup schedule

Spain, who were drawn into Group H and qualified unbeaten, open their World Cup campaign against debutants Cape Verde at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Monday, June 15. They remain in Atlanta for their second group fixture against Saudi Arabia, before travelling to Mexico to face Uruguay at Estadio Akron.

The 2010 World Cup winners will be hoping their most electrifying attacker is fit and available when that opening fixture arrives.