Lamine Yamal’s recovery has now become the most important topic within FC Barcelona this week.
The Blaugrana released the official medical report last Monday, announcing that the young forward had suffered “a grade one sprain to the anterior tibio-fibular ligament,” with a prognosis of three to four weeks out.
Since then, many expert opinions have emerged, some raising concerns about both the diagnosis and the expected recovery time.
Optimism around Lamine’s condition
However, according to AS, the tests conducted on Lamine considerably downplayed the severity of the injury.
The primary concern of the medical team was that the twist he suffered during the match against Leganes might have also affected the external lateral ligament of the ankle.
Fortunately, the tests completely ruled this out: Lamine only has an issue with a part of the membrane covering the fibula and tibia, known as the syndesmosis.
No cause for concern. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
The fact that the external lateral ligament is unaffected significantly eases both the rehabilitation process and the recovery time, which is why a three-to-four-week recovery period was initially predicted.
Furthermore, the fact that the player remained on the field for almost fifty minutes after suffering the twist did not worsen the injury.
Lamine was examined at half-time and it was decided to apply a compression bandage to his right ankle and administer anti-inflammatory drugs and painkillers, with the instruction that he should request to be substituted at the first sign of pain or discomfort.
Nonetheless, Barcelona are not hiding their concern that this injury may be very similar to the one Lamine suffered just over a month ago, which took about three weeks for him to return to the field.
At present, the expectation is that he will miss the upcoming matches against Atletico Madrid in La Liga (21 December) and Barbastro in the Copa del Rey (4 January), with all eyes on the Supercopa de España semi-final against Athletic (8 January).
Lamine will not be rushed in any way, and his return will depend entirely on how he feels. However, there is currently a strong sense of optimism that he will be in peak condition for the Supercopa fixture.