Will Hansi Flick Take a Risk? Lamine Yamal Aims for the Starting XI Against Athletic

Unless there is a surprise, Hansi Flick will have Lamine Yamal from the start in the Athletic Club-FC Barcelona match this Wednesday (20:00 CEST), for the semifinals of the Supercopa de España. The player from Mataró has completely overcome the discomfort in his right ankle resulting from the injury he suffered on December 15 against Leganés, as he managed to train normally in the last sessions before the azulgrana delegation's trip to Arabia.

However, in the press conference prior to the match in Jeddah, the Barça coach did not give any hints about his intention to include the youth player in the XI. "He has trained three or four times with us. He could play tomorrow", Flick commented on the status of the '19'. Lamine suffered a grade 1 injury to the anterior tibiofibular ligament of his right ankle, and his estimated recovery time was three to four weeks.

Fermín and Gavi will come in for Lamine if Flick decides to leave him on the bench

However, the winger managed to shorten his recovery time through a treatment with platelet-rich plasma, along with the use of a special boot to immobilize his foot during the Christmas holidays. In fact, Yamal traveled to Dubai for the Globe Soccer Awards gala, but returned to the City of Barcelona before the end of the year to continue his rehabilitation at the Ciutat Esportiva.

Given the circumstances, it is most likely that the forward will receive official medical clearance on Wednesday morning, allowing him to play what will be his second Supercopa de España. If he decides to leave him on the bench, Flick will choose between Fermín López (starter against Barbastro) or Gavi (starter against Atlético) to fill the gap left by Lamine in the XI. The youth player suffered a similar injury in October, so the coaching staff should not take risks again, something they already did in the match against Leganés by leaving him on the field for more than an hour with ankle discomfort.

• Possible XI for Barça against Athletic: Iñaki Peña; Koundé, Araujo, Iñigo Martínez, Balde; Casadó, Eric García, Pedri; Lamine, Raphinha, and Lewandowski