LAMINE YAMAL left the pitch in tears with his World Cup dreams hanging in the balance – after getting injured while scoring.
The Barcelona winger, 18, gave his side the lead in their crunch LaLiga clash with Celta Vigo at the Nou Camp.
He converted a penalty he won when clattered in the 40th minute, taking a slow run-up before swatting the ball into the bottom corner.
However, as soon as the ball hit the back of the net, it was clear Yamal was in significant discomfort – either hurting himself taking the penalty or in the foul that led to it.
He slowly jogged away and did not celebrate – instead, the youngster immediately signalled towards the bench that something was wrong.
Yamal then bent down and seemingly clutched his left hamstring before collapsing to the turf, surrounded by team-mates wanting to congratulate him on the goal.
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The No10 covered his face with his hand as Barcelona manager Hansi Flick watched on concerned.
Yamal received lengthy treatment and was eventually subbed off in the second minute of injury time.
He was helped off the pitch by the physio team and appeared to be in tears.
Flick consoled and hugged his star man as he hobbled off the pitch.
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The injury – the degree of which will be confirmed with a scan – is potentially a devastating blow to Yamal’s World Cup dreams.
The teenager was a key player as Spain won Euro 2024.
And he will be at the heart of their plans to be crowned world champions for a second time in North America this summer – with what would be his debut World Cup tournament starting in just seven weeks.
Fans rallied around Yamal on social media.
One said: “I hope he is back on time always like seeing a great player represent their country.”
Another wrote: “He automatically makes a face of pain and asks to be substituted. Way too worrying.”
And a third added: “Speedy recovery to the genius.”
Yamal’s penalty proved the only goal of the game as Barcelona restored their nine-point lead over rivals Real Madrid at the top of LaLiga with six games to go.
However, the match was overshadowed by a medical emergency in the crowd.
The referee stopped the game deep into first-half injury time when he was alerted to a supporter being taken ill.
Police stepped in to help the situation before the fan was carried out of the Nou Camp stands to applause.