Barcelona have confirmed that Lamine Yamal could miss up to a month after picking up another ankle injury against Leganes/

It was the first time this season that Barcelona had lost a La Liga game started by Yamal, underscoring his importance even at such a young age. But a blow to his right ankle relatively early in the competition meant the 17-year-old was a shadow of his usual self afterwards.

Yamal appeared to signal to the bench during the first half that he wanted to be substituted. But the 2024 Golden Boy winner, who received his trophy before kick-off, ended up staying on the pitch until he was eventually substituted with 75 minutes remaining.

Tests confirmed that Yamal had suffered fresh ankle ligament damage, with a recovery time of "three to four weeks".

Coach Hansi Flick was criticized for not making the change sooner, but assistant Marcus Sorg, who was on the touchline in place of Flick while he served his suspension, insisted the decision to continue was Yamal's.

"Lamine has decided that he is fine and can continue playing. I can't say he is fine, we will have to wait for the medical team to examine him," Sorg told reporters.

The injured ankle is the same one that caused Yamal to miss five games Barcelona and Spain in November.

Yamal will miss Saturday's tough test against fellow title hopefuls Atletico Madrid, but will benefit from Spanish football's winter break as he looks to recover as quickly as possible.

Barcelona return to action against lower league side Barbastro on January 4, and Yamal is unlikely to be at risk even if he recovers ahead of schedule.

The Catalans then travel to Saudi Arabia a few days later for the Supercopa de Espana, where they will face Athletic Club in the semi-finals, before a potential final against Real Madrid or Mallorca. League it only resumes later in the month when Barca visit Getafe on January 19.

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