Spain are on the verge of World Cup qualification but their preparations for this month’s qualifiers have been overshadowed by a club versus country row.
The player in question? Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal.
The Spain star was called up to their squad for qualifiers at Georgia on Saturday and at home to Turkey on November 18.
However, it has emerged that the 18-year-old is no longer in the squad after undergoing surgery on Monday without informing them.
In a damning statement on Tuesday morning, the Spanish FA labelled the operation as ‘invasive’ and expressed their ‘surprise’ at him needing it in the first place.
‘The Medical Services of the RFEF wish to express their surprise and discomfort after learning at 13:47 on Monday, November 10, the day of the start of the official training camp with the national team, that player Lamine Yamal had undergone an invasive radiofrequency procedure for the treatment of his pubic discomfort that same morning,’ their statement read.
Lamine Yamal has sparked a club vs country row after undergoing surgery without telling Spain
The Spanish FA released a damning statement about the forward’s operation on Tuesday
‘This procedure was carried out without prior communication to the medical staff of the National Team, with knowledge of the details only through a report received at 22:40 last night, which indicated the medical recommendation of rest for 7-10 days.
‘Given this situation, and prioritising at all times the health, safety and well-being of the player, the Royal Spanish Football Federation has made the decision to release the athlete from the current call-up.
‘We are confident that he will recover well and wish him a speedy and full recovery.’
The timing of Yamal’s operation is a clear inconvenience for Spain as they bid to reach next year’s World Cup finals in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
This is the second international camp in a row he has missed. In October, Barcelona announced he was set to be sidelined for up to three weeks due to a recurrence of his groin injury, just hours after he was named in Spain’s squad for their wins over Georgia and Bulgaria.
Yamal has started all six of Barcelona’s most recent matches – playing no less than 64 minutes in any of them.
Furthermore he played the full duration in Wednesday’s 3-3 Champions League draw at Club Brugge and then the 4-2 LaLiga win at Celta Vigo on Sunday.
