Lamine Yamal ready to return for Barcelona after ankle injury

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Lamine Yamal is ready to return for Barcelona after recovering from an injury to his right ankle, coach Hansi Flick said Friday.

Flick said that his young star will play when Barcelona hosts Las Palmas on Saturday, either as a starter or a substitute.

“He’s back and he is ready to play,” Flick said. “We have not decided yet if he will start. We will see. But I think he can and he will play.”

Yamal picked up his injury in a 5-2 win at Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League three weeks ago. The 17-year-old forward missed three games for Barcelona and two Nations League games for Spain while recovering.

Barcelona struggled without Yamal. It lost 1-0 at Real Sociedad and drew 2-2 at Celta Vigo in the Spanish league before beating Brest 3-0 in the Champions League.

Yamal, who helped Spain win the 2024 European Championship, leads the Spanish league with seven assists for Barcelona. He has also scored five times in the domestic competition.

The Catalan club leads La Liga. Real Madrid is four points behind but has an extra game to play.

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