"It's the second international break of the 2025-26 season and Lamine Yamal has a week off. That's good news from the perspective of the 18-year-old really needing it, but the bad news for the Barcelona and Spain forward is that he will spend it recovering from injury after suffering a groin issue during the Champions League defeat against Paris Saint-Germain last Wednesday."
"Lamal's groin injury could simply be down to bad luck and the rigors of top-level football, but when the teenager's incredible appearance numbers are factored in -- 130 senior games and 8,158 minutes on the pitch by his 18th birthday -- the shadow of burnout and the danger of football running its bigger young star into the ground becomes a worrying possibility."
"The modern game's rising intensity is challenging enough for established professionals, but for young players aged 16 to 20, the risks are even greater,"
"At a stage when their bodies and minds are still developing, the demands of congested schedules and high-intensity training can have lasting consequences for both performance and career longevity."
Lamine Yamal suffered a groin injury during Barcelona's Champions League defeat by Paris Saint-Germain and will spend the international break recovering. By his 18th birthday he had accumulated 130 senior appearances and 8,158 minutes for club and country, a total unmatched among elite players. FIFPRO used his game-time as a case study in a report titled "Overworked and Underprotected," warning that rising match intensity and congested schedules particularly threaten 16- to 20-year-olds. FIFPRO's Dr Darren Burgess cautioned that developing bodies and minds face potential lasting consequences for performance and career longevity, raising burnout and health concerns.
Read at ESPN.com
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