Spain star Yamal admits he feared missing World Cup

Spain's rising football sensation Lamine Yamal confessed to fearing he might miss the upcoming World Cup due to a hamstring injury. The 18-year-old Barcelona winger suffered the setback on April 22 while scoring a penalty against Celta Vigo.

"Internally, I was praying it was nothing, that it was just cramp or something like that, because the World Cup was very close and I knew that a hamstring injury is never a short-term thing," Yamal told the Spanish football federation's media outlet. "I was afraid it might be serious and, above all, that even if it wasn’t serious, I could suffer a setback and end up missing the World Cup."

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Internally, I was praying it was nothing, that it was just cramp or something like that, because the World Cup was very close and I knew that a hamstring injury is never a short-term thing. I was afraid it might be serious and, above all, that even if it wasn’t serious, I could suffer a setback and end up missing the World Cup.

Despite the scare, Yamal is working towards recovery and joined his teammates for their first training session before heading to the gym. Spain coach Luis de la Fuente is optimistic about having the player available for their World Cup opener against Cape Verde on June 15. Yamal, a key player in Spain's Euro 2024 victory, described the World Cup as "the biggest thing" in football and has "a thousand times" dreamt of winning it. If he doesn't feature in the first match, he is expected to play in subsequent group games against Saudi Arabia and Uruguay.

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It’s also true that it helps knowing you’re going to play a World Cup, so mentally it’s like you haven’t played a single game all season, and I’m really eager to make my debut (at the tournament)