Lamine Yamal is not playing for Barcelona mainly because of a recent stomach virus, plus he’s still managing an ongoing groin/pubic area injury that has bothered him off and on since late 2025.

Latest Injury & Fitness Status (January 2026)

  • In early January 2026, Yamal missed a training session the day before Barcelona’s Spanish Super Cup semifinal against Athletic Club, raising some concern.
  • However, club reports clarified that he was just weakened by a stomach virus (a mild illness, not a serious muscle problem) and did not suffer a recurrence of his groin injury.
  • He had already returned to training shortly before and played the full 90 minutes against Espanyol in the Catalan derby, so he was deemed fit to be involved in the Super Cup, just not fully fresh.

The Ongoing Groin Problem

  • Yamal has been struggling since autumn 2025 with a recurring groin/pubic area issue (often called pubalgia), which first flared up after playing for Spain and required painkillers to get through international matches.
  • This injury caused him to miss several games for both Barcelona and Spain, and he’s been in a “manage” phase where the club and national team have to carefully ration his minutes to avoid setbacks.
  • The strain between Barcelona manager Hansi Flick and Spain coach Luis de la Fuente over how much to play Yamal in autumn 2025 highlighted how fragile his fitness has been.

Why He’s Not Playing in Some Specific Games

Depending on the exact match being asked about:

  • For Spanish Super Cup vs Athletic Club (early Jan 2026): He was not fully fit after the stomach bug, so he was either left out completely or only considered for a bench role.
  • For Champions League vs Slavia Prague (mid-Jan 2026): In this case, he was available but suspended due to yellow card accumulation, so he couldn’t play even when fit.
  • For other recent games: He’s been absent mainly when the groin issue flares up (like in October 2025, when he missed a game against Sevilla with a 2–3 week recovery estimate).

How Barcelona Is Managing Him

  • Barcelona are treating Yamal as a long‑term project, limiting his workload to protect him for the rest of the season and future campaigns.
  • They’re balancing his fitness with the desire to play a young star, which is why he sometimes appears in one game but is rested or rotated in the next to avoid overloading his groin.
  • Outside of injury and suspension, he’s rarely left out unless there’s a tactical decision or heavy rotation (like in cup games or when the team needs a different style on the wing).

So, in short: Yamal is not playing right now either because of that recent stomach virus, or because the club is being cautious with his known groin problem, or — in some Champions League games — because he’s serving a suspension.