Lamine Yamal has been diagnosed with an 'incurable' condition that could impact the rest of his footballing career.
Since his breaking into the Barcelona senior team for the first time at just 15 years old in August 2023, Yamal has established himself as one of the best players in the world.
In 2024, he played a key role in the success of both his club and country, helping take Spain to glory at Euro 2024 and Barcelona to a domestic treble last season.
His recent success saw him finish second in the 2025 Ballon d'Or rankings, finishing behind Paris Saint-Germain's Ousmane Dembele, while becoming the first player to win the Kopa Trophy for a second time.
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But, alongside his impressive footballing career, the 18-year-old is battling a chronic groin injury that he may have to deal with for the rest of his career.
During what many labelled as a lacklustre performance during El Clasico, some noticed that Yamal was sometimes seen grimacing n discomfort as he clearly played through an injury.
On several occasions this season, the youngster has missed matches for both Barcelona and Spain due to a groin problem, and it is exactly this injury that may haunt him long-term.
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Although Barcelona have not released any official medical information on the matter, it has been widely reported that Yamal is suffering with pubalgia, a chronic groin injury which causes persistent pain in the pubic region.
According to a report on the injury from Spanish outlet Sport, pubalgia is a very complex condition and, while it's impossible to say just how severe Yamal's problem is, he may never be back to 100%.
It claims that pubalgia can have several causes and it unfortunately is not a muscle injury that can be considered 'cured' if it heals.
Explaining the condition, physiotherapist Lluis Puig said: "First of all we must say that pubalgia is not a muscle injury, but rather an alteration in the pubic area, where different muscles converge.
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"We have to work on different levels, and we can't say that it's an injury that will be gone in a month. No, we'll have to live with it, and we'll have to do preventative and compensatory work to give him the assurances to be able to play at the highest level."
Puig also revealed that the injury may have been caused by a number of different factors, including how his posture and some muscles have changed with growth.
Meanwhile sports traumatologist Dr. Ripoll further revealed how the injury will impact Yamal's ability on the football pitch while speaking to El Larguero.
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"It is an injury that is frankly difficult to treat. It's characterised by pain that reduces the player's ability to move and shoot by almost 50%, which is exactly what we saw in El Clasico," Dr. Ripoll explained.
"It’s a disabling pain that allows the player to participate in matches but keeps him from his best level and significantly diminishes his performance.”
And Yamal isn't the only Barcelona star to have suffered with the condition, as club legend Lionel Messi was also treated for pubalgia twice between 2000 and 2008.
Topics: Lamine Yamal, Barcelona, Football, Injury, Lionel Messi, Spain
Ben McCrum