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New Delhi: Spain manager Luis de la Fuente has criticised Barcelona for the lack of communication over Lamine Yamal's fitness. He said that the national team "should have been told beforehand" about Yamal's treatment, which saw him released from the squad on Monday.
The forward was included in the Spain squad for matches against Georgia and Turkey during this international break, but underwent "an invasive radiofrequency procedure" on Monday, which requires a rest between seven to 10 days.
Yamal had featured three times for Barcelona in the last week, playing 88 minutes against Elche, 90 minutes against Club Brugge in the Champions League, and 89 minutes against Celta Vigo after struggling with a groin problem in recent months.
"Lamine joined up because we didn't know there was any problem. He didn't know exactly what had been done. He didn't know the recovery process, or the consequences. And we didn't know anything. He had to go home." De la Fuente told Cadena COPE radio on Tuesday night.
Managing Yamal's fitness has been a big issue in this ongoing season, with Barcelona manager Hansi Flick blaming the national team for not taking care of the forward in September, and Yamal then being forced to pull out from the next Spain squad in October.
"We have to take care of [Yamal]. I think he comes back to the best level, but it's not over, so it's not done, this injury. We have to take care of him, not just us, also the national team," " Flick said on Saturday.
De la Fuente denied that he was unhappy with Flick's handling of the issue and said that there needs to be communication and a good relationship between the national team and the club.
"And in this case, there wasn't... I can't say if [the procedure] was supposed to be done or not, that's down to his club," he added. Yamal has been a crucial player for Spain as they won Euro 2024 and reached the 2025 UEFA Nations League final, ahead of next year's World Cup.
