Barcelona star forwards Robert Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal will miss upcoming international duty with Poland and Spain, respectively, due to injuries, the La Liga club announced Monday.
Yamal missed Barca's 1-0 La Liga loss to Real Sociedad on Sunday after injuring his right ankle in the Champions League. The teenager is expected to be sidelined for up to three weeks, ruling him out of Spain's Nations League matches against Denmark and Switzerland.
La Liga top scorer Lewandowski sustained a back injury on Sunday and is expected to be out for just under two weeks, causing him to miss Poland's Nations League games against Portugal and Scotland.
“Tests performed on the morning of Monday, Nov. 11, revealed that Lamine Yamal has a grade 1 syndesmosis injury in his right ankle. He is expected to be out of action for between two and three weeks. Meanwhile, Robert Lewandowski is having trouble in the lumbar region of his back and will be rested for about 10 days,” Barcelona said in a statement.
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) announced that Girona midfielder Bryan Gil will replace Yamal.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid said Monday that they will be without defender Lucas Vazquez and forward Rodrygo in the coming weeks due to leg injuries sustained on Saturday.
The club previously confirmed that Brazilian defender Eder Militao will undergo surgery and miss several months for the second consecutive season after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear in the recent 4-0 La Liga win over Osasuna.
The 26-year-old Militao became the second Real Madrid player to suffer an ACL injury this season, following fullback Dani Carvajal. It is the 10th such injury sustained by one of the club’s players in 15 months.
The club’s lengthy injury list also includes key players such as Thibaut Courtois, Aurelien Tchouameni and David Alaba. Only goalkeeper Courtois is expected to be available for a highly anticipated Champions League clash at Liverpool in two weeks.
Militao’s injury was one of three ACL tears sustained by La Liga players over the weekend, with Villarreal’s Ilias Akhomach and Leganes’ Enric Franquesa also injured on Saturday.