According to Cadena SER, Yamal's recovery is progressing well, and he aims to play in the opening match against Cape Verde.
This Thursday, the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada will kick off. However, the Spanish team will not have its debut until 0:00 on June 16th Beijing time (CEST), against Cape Verde. The biggest question before this FIFA World Cup is Yamal's current condition and when he will be able to represent the Spanish team at 100% in this summer's intercontinental tournament.
Yamal is currently in good condition and spirits, actively catching up, and has seen hope for his return. After several difficult weeks, the player from Rocafonda is very eager to participate in the FIFA World Cup. At the beginning of his injury, he was very anxious and worried that he would miss the tournament. The key was whether the ligaments were affected, and when he was told that there was no problem with the ligaments, he breathed a sigh of relief and began to recover with the goal of participating in this FIFA World Cup.
As revealed today by Cadena SER Catalonia's program "Què T'hi Jugues!", Barcelona and the Spanish team, Barcelona and the Royal Spanish Football Federation immediately began to cooperate, hoping to handle Yamal's injury as properly as possible. The Spanish team has a physiotherapist, Fernando Galán, who also works for Barcelona as an external consultant and collaborates with Yamal. Yamal is diligently recovering with him because he wants to play for a period in the first match. Starting him would be risky.
Barcelona is quite concerned about the risk of Yamal's recurrence and believes that letting him play for an extended period in the first match against Cape Verde is an unwarranted risk. However, Yamal's recovery is going smoothly, and he hopes to test his condition in the first match by playing for a short period; then play for a longer time in the second match; and reach 100% fitness by the third, decisive group stage match against Uruguay.
Spain's next match, the second round of the FIFA World Cup group stage, will be held at 0:00 on June 22nd Beijing time (CEST), against Saudi Arabia. Finally, the Spanish team coached by Luis de la Fuente will conclude the group stage at 8:00 on June 27th Beijing time (CEST) in Mexico against Uruguay.