There is less than three weeks to go until the first El Clasico of the season, and Barcelona are still unsure on Lamine Yamal’s availability for the trip to the Santiago Bernabeu. After the Paris Saint-Germain defeat last week, the 18-year-old suffered a relapse of the pubis injury he aggravated during September’s international break, and it’s expected that he will be out for around 2-3 weeks.
That would mean that he arrives just in time to face Real Madrid, although there would be doubts about whether he would be at 100% to start at the Bernabeu. However, Barcelona are determined to ensure that they can count on their star attacker against their great rivals.
As per MD, Barcelona have devised a plan for Lamine Yamal, which they believe will allow him to be ready to be in the starting line-up for El Clasico. For starters, the idea would be for him to return for the match against Girona after the international break, and featuring for 30-45 minutes as a way to “regain competitive sensations and test his physical response”.
After that, Barcelona would hope he can start in the Champions League clash against Olympiacos, featuring for 60-70 minutes in order to improve his match sharpness further before facing Real Madrid five days later.
Barcelona will also have two more returnees for El Clasico
On top of Lamine Yamal, Barcelona are planning for Fermin Lopez and Raphinha to be at 100% for El Clasico. Both players have also suffered injury blows in the last few weeks, but they are expected to make their returns against Girona, meaning that they could follow a similar plan to ensure they are capable of starting at the Bernabeu.
It’s clear that Barcelona need to have their strongest squad possible to face Real Madrid, as they seek to continue the excellent form they showed in El Clasico last season.
