Incurable Condition Strikes 2 Football Rising Stars: Yamal and Mastantuono May Never Return to Full Fitness

Pubalgia is an injury that many football players are afraid of, yet it’s becoming more common among young players. After Lamine Yamal, Franco Mastantuono became another talented footballer whose career was cut short by this disease. Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams is having the same problem; he looks completely different this season. Bad news for Barcelona and Real Madrid, and another reminder that pubalgia can change things rapidly.

Two of football’s brightest young talents on the global scene— Spaniard Lamine Yamal and Argentine Franco Mastantuono — face a troubling reality as they’ve both been diagnosed with the same persistent groin issue: pubalgia. While club statements call for hope and management, the medical verdict is stark: this is an incurable condition.

At just 18, Yamal has already soared to global prominence, starring for FC Barcelona and his national team. Yet the club’s medical staff has issued a warning: his ongoing pubalgia may never fully resolve, meaning he could never return to unqualified fitness.

Meanwhile, his peer Mastantuono — also barely out of his teens — has been confirmed by Real Madrid CF as the latest player to suffer from pubalgia, joining Yamal in enduring the same conviction from medical professionals.

Condition’s Background

Pubalgia is described as chronic pain in the pubic or groin region, common to footballers due to sudden changes in direction, repeated kicks, and heavy match workloads. It isn’t a straightforward muscle strain that can simply heal — rather, it requires long-term management, preventive rehab, and careful workload control.

In Yamal’s case, the underlying issue came to the surface after missing four of Barcelona’s first 11 league games this season. The club hasn’t publicly confirmed details, but Spanish media report he is suffering from pubalgia — a condition that often doesn’t “heal in a week”.

For Mastantuono, Real Madrid’s brief statement confirmed his diagnosis following tests. The club noted his absence from training ahead of their crucial Champions League fixture.

Why Pubalgia Affects Young Stars in Particular

Both Yamal and Mastantuono have logged extraordinary minutes at an early age. Paraphrasing: they turned 18 within the past few months and, between them, have played more than 200 games over the past three years, the majority at incredible intensity. That level of exertion inevitably brings a risk — and pubalgia is the inevitable result, a word we’ll hear a lot more going forward.

Indeed, Yamal’s senior appearances — nearly 130 matches and over 9,700 minutes by age 18 — already dwarf the early career workloads of some past legends. With such demand on young bodies, the development of chronic groin problems becomes a serious threat.

Messi Had This in 2019: Consequences and What Lies Ahead

The term “incurable” here doesn’t mean the players are finished — far from it. It means that full restoration to a condition free of risk or relapse is unlikely. In fact, Lionel Messi himself said this in 2019, saying that he had been in agony for months and that it kept him from training properly. A sneaky injury that takes a long time to heal and is hard to get rid of can make a player miss a lot of games. Messi paid the price for this with “Barça”.

Instead, the emphasis is on careful management: rest, physiotherapy, load-monitoring, and long-term maintenance. As one expert put it: “We can’t say it will be gone in a month… we’ll have to live with it.”

For Barcelona, the message to Yamal is clear: his minutes must be managed, or risk severe injury problems early in his career. For Real Madrid, Mastantuono’s absence from training and the UCL match signals how cautious the club intends to be.

With crucial La Liga clashes and European nights still ahead, the spotlight also falls on how these absences may influence competitive balance and expectations from fans and analysts alike — especially in matches where stakes and predictions run high. Those looking at form, injury status, and squad rotation often compare trends across the best football bookmakers to understand how odds shift when key players are unavailable.

Both clubs will face difficult decisions: balancing the immediate value of these emerging stars with the long-term health of their careers. The spotlight now falls on the medical teams, workload planners, and club hierarchies to protect talent before expectation becomes burden.

In the end, these diagnoses are a cautionary tale: even football’s brightest young talents aren’t immune to the toll of relentless competition. Their futures may still shine, but only if the glow is managed wisely.