Healthcare Lamine Yamal Skips Spain’s Drills Thursday, Raising Injury Concerns By Bruce Y. Lee ,
Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Bruce Y. Lee, M.D., MBA, covers health, medicine, wellness and science Follow Author Jul 16, 2026, 11:19pm EDT Jul 16, 2026, 11:28pm EDT --:-- / --:-- This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more . This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more . Summary Spanish star Lamine Yamal's left leg is a major concern for Spain ahead of Sunday's FIFA World Cup Final against Argentina. The 19-year-old limped off after the semifinal win and missed Thursday's practice, where his left thigh was visibly bandaged. Yamal, who began the tournament recovering from a hamstring injury, only participated in light stretching. Despite the Spanish coaching staff claiming it's workload management and he'll be fully available, the true extent of his condition is unknown. Yamal has been pivotal for Spain, who remain unbeaten in 14 games with him, making his fitness crucial for the final.
Spain's Lamine Yamal took part in the light individual stretching of the open portion of the team's training on Thursday but not the passing drills. (Photo by Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images) Anadolu via Getty Images Spain will certainly want to get a leg up on Argentina when it comes to this Sunday’s 2026 FIFA World Cup Final. But a big question is what’s happening with one of the legs belonging to Lamine Yamal—the 19-year-old Spanish star who plays right wing for La Roja—namely his left leg. Yamal limped off the pitch after Spain’s semifinal victory over France and sat out of Spain’s passing drills on Thursday, which has left a lot of injury speculation.
Yamal and his left leg were present on the practice field and did participate in some of the light stretching. But neither participated in the drills. Plus, his left thigh was wrapped in a bandage. Other than that, it is not completely clear what kind of trouble there may be in thigh land for Yamal. The Spanish coaching staff has claimed that keeping Yamal out of practice was simply part of the team’s workload management plan and that footballer who normally stars for Barcelona will be fully available come this Sunday. The practice was also beset by the Canadian wildfire smoke that has been drifting over the New York-New Jersey area, a s I detailed in Forbes yesterday .
Yamal did come into the 2026 FIFA World Cup with big expectations. Prior to the start of the tournament, Ryan O’Hanlon ranked for ESPN Yamal as the seoncd best player at the World Cup, second only to France’s Ousmane Dembélé and 13 spots ahead of some guy named Messi. Although Yamal has not necessarily been the second player at the tournament so far, he has had an impact. He’s scored one goal and created five chances across seven games. Moreover, the Spanish national team still has never ever lost with Yamal in the lineup, going unbeaten for 14 games and counting.
Lamine Yamal (R) of Spain and his teammate Mikel Oyarzabal (C) take on Kylian Mbappe of France (L) during their semi-final match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at Dallas Stadium on July 14, 2026. (Photo by Pablo Morano/BSR Agency/Getty Images) Getty Images Yamal also came into the 2026 FIFA World Cup recovering from a left hamstring injury. Hamstring injuries can vary in severity from Grade 1 strains, which are mild and involve only a small percentage of muscle fibers being to...