Barcelona injury news: Lamine Yamal fitness update provided as teenage superstar suffers issue during Spain clash

Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente is expecting Lamine Yamal to be available for Sunday's clash against Turkey despite picking up a back issue against Bulgaria on Thursday night.

The Barcelona attacker 'felt something' in the second half of the 2026 World Cup qualification match, which led to his withdrawal late on, and there was immediately concern surrounding the 18-year-old.

Yamal will now sit out training on Friday, but De la Fuente told Cadena SER after the match that he is expecting to have the forward available for the contest with Turkey on Sunday.

The attacker set up Mikel Merino to make it 3-0 in the first half of the fixture, while Mikel Oyarzabal and Marc Cucurella were also on the scoresheet in the Group E fixture.

According to WhoScored, Yamal had five shots in total and completed seven dribbles, once again proving to be the standout player for Spain, who proved too strong for their opponents on Thursday night.

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Yamal set to face Turkey despite picking up back issue

Despite the strong result against Bulgaria, Spain boss De la Fuente said that his side were "upset" with their second-half performance in the World Cup qualifier.

"In the second half, we lacked freshness, but that is normal at this stage of the season. Sunday will be different," De la Fuente said. "We are very demanding. The players are the first ones who were upset about the second half.

"I take it game by game and try to balance the efforts. I want to put out the best team on Sunday to compete against Turkey.

"We met the objective, although it is true that we had set out to continue improving for the second half and that the game was brilliant."

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How was Yamal started the season for Barcelona?

Yamal has been Barcelona's standout player in the early stages of the 2025-26 campaign, already coming up with two goals and three assists in three La Liga appearances for the Catalan giants.

The attacker is well on his way to becoming the best player in world football, and he could lead Spain to World Cup glory next summer, providing that he stays clear of injury.

The teenager will next be seen in a Barcelona shirt on September 14, when Hansi Flick's continue their La Liga campaign with a home fixture against Valencia.