€180m Barcelona star might have to start the next game from the bench | OneFootball

Despite the negativity surrounding the club due to the problem of the lack of registration of Dani Olmo and Pau Victor, FC Barcelona were still able to start 2025 on a winning note, as they emerged victorious against UD Barbastro in their first Copa del Rey tie of the season.

Meanwhile, another piece of good news for Hansi Flick has been the return of Lamine Yamal, who is traveling to Saudi Arabia with the rest of the team.

While the €180m-rated Spanish winger will be available for selection, SPORT notes that it is still unknown whether he will start in the Spanish Super Cup semi-final against Athletic Club as he will not have many training sessions on his watch ahead of this game. Similarly, his sensations ahead of the match will also determine his role.

Yamal has been out of action for three weeks now, suffering an ankle injury in the game against Leganes on December 15th. He returned to training with the group on 2nd January and Flick also revealed that he expected him to be available for the Super Cup semi-final against Athletic Club.

However, he had to wear an immobilizing boot after suffering that injury, and took it off only on 29th December. Thus, he was unable to undertake any cardio exercise in this period, and had only one week to get back to competitive shape with only one week left before the match against Athletic Club.

Yamal himself does not want to take any risks, and will return to the pitch only once he has recovered 100%. In this regard, he is particularly wary as he has seen several of his Barcelona teammates making their conditions worse by returning to action before their issues were completely eliminated.

Thus, it is quite likely that he will start the upcoming semi-final against Athletic Club from the bench, instead of being a starter.