Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said he was being protective of Lamine Yamal when he remarked last month that the Spain team should take better care of players after the 18-year-old's groin injury flared up again, sidelining him for two to three weeks.

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente had responded to Flick's comments on Friday, saying he had thought the Barcelona manager would have had more empathy for a colleague, given that Flick had once managed Germany.

Forward Yamal, who missed four matches last month due to the injury, will sit out Spain's World Cup qualifiers against Georgia and Bulgaria next week, and is a doubt for Barcelona's Champions League match against Olympiacos.

"The situation was, after the last international break, when Lamine came back, he was like that. From my perspective

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