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Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente was bemused following the release of Lamine Yamal from the squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers, stating that he had "never seen anything like it." Yamal was released from the Spain squad after he underwent invasive radiofrequency procedure to treat his pubic discomfort, with the Barcelona star set to be out for the next seven to 10 days.

• Yamal released from Spain squad

  Yamal was released from the Spain squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Georgia and Turkey, which has left the Spanish football federation (RFEF) "surprised". The federation released an official statement on the same on Tuesday.

  The statement read: “The RFEF Medical Services wish to express their surprise and dismay upon learning at 1:47 p.m. on Monday, November 10, the day the official training camp with the national team began, that player Lamine Yamal had undergone an invasive radiofrequency procedure to treat his pubic discomfort that same morning. This procedure was performed without prior notification to the national team's medical staff, who only became aware of the details through a report received at 10:40 p.m. last night, which indicated a medical recommendation of rest for 7-10 days. Given this situation, and prioritizing at all times the health, safety and well-being of the player, the Royal Spanish Football Federation has made the decision to release the athlete from the current call-up. We are confident that he will recover well and wish him a speedy and full recovery.”

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  De la Fuente rocked after learning of Yamal's medical activity

  The latest episode is sure to reignite the feud between the RFEF and Barcelona. In an interview with on Tuesday, De la Fuente made his thoughts known on Yamal's withdrawal from the Spain squad. “There are procedures that take place outside the Federation's control," he said. "That's what happens, we have to accept it. I've never experienced a situation like this before. I don't think it's very normal. It has surprised us all. You don't have any news, you don't know any details, and on top of that, it's a health issue, so you're left surprised.”

  Last week, the Spain head coach took a firm stance on his decision to call up Yamal, appearing to take a swipe at Barcelona boss Hansi Flick. The pair have been locked in a war of words since September, when Flick accused De la Fuente and the RFEF of “failing to take care” of Yamal and other players after the teenager picked up a knock while on international duty.

  "I think the answer is obvious. I watched his last game, and I believe he’s in perfect condition," De la Fuente stated at a press conference. "His coach said he was ready to play. He's getting back to being the player he always has been, and we celebrate that. He will stay with us as long as we consider it appropriate.

  "Watching the game the other day, Lamine is fit to play. We have two very important games and we need to field our best players. We have two hugely important matches to qualify for the World Cup, the stakes are massive and we want the best players with us."

• No 'tension' between Flick and De la Fuente

  On Sunday, RFEF president Rafael Louzan revealed that while there were minor disagreements between the national team and Barcelona, there were never any concerns about the matter escalating. He claimed that "Luis de la Fuente has a very good relationship with everyone," while also admitting that Flick "wants his players in perfect condition." He concluded by stating that the verbal exchanges between Flick and De la Fuente were nothing more than "just minor disagreements that wouldn't escalate because, from our point of view, there was no tension."

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  Barcelona cautious about Yamal's fitness issues

  According to journalist Fernando Polo, Barcelona are exploring several treatment options to manage Yamal’s pubalgia – a chronic groin injury that can cause persistent discomfort, with the radiofrequency therapy performed on the youngster on Monday reportedly angering the RFEF.

  The treatment involves delivering a controlled electrical current through fine needles, guided by X-rays or ultrasound imaging, to target and suppress the nerve signals that cause pain. The minimally invasive procedure does not usually require hospitalisation.

  Barring any further setbacks, it is likely that Yamal will be fit and available for the clash against Athletic Club on November 22.

A.J. Preller was never going to sit this one out.

You knew the San Diego Padres’ wheeling, dealing general manager was going to have his say, and shock in the process. But this time, the big deal he swung may have hurt his franchise in the long run.

The Padres landed All-Star closer Mason Miller from the Athletics on Thursday, along with lefty starter JP Sears. In exchange, they sent Leodalis De Vries, Braden Nett, Henry Baez and Eduarniel Núñez.

De Vries is the real headliner here. An 18-year-old shortstop who is the No. 3 overall prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline, De Vries earned a $4.2 million signing bonus from the Padres in 2024. He was the top international prospect in his class and has lived up to that billing in the minor leagues. This season at High A, De Vries is slashing .245/.357/.410 with eight home runs, 46 RBIs and a wRC+ of 115. He’s doing that against players who are, on average, four years older than he is. He has “star” written all over him.

Nett is a high-velocity starting pitcher who is the franchise’s No. 3 prospect and appears on the verge of the big leagues. Baez is San Diego’s No. 13 prospect, a righty starter who carries a 1.96 ERA in Double A, and Núñez is a 26-year-old reliever who has debuted after having a big year in the minors.

Miller is an outstanding closer with big-time stuff, including a fastball that averages 101.1 mph. In 38 appearances this season, he is 1–2 with a 3.76 ERA, a 1.02 WHIP and 59 strikeouts against 18 walks in 38 1/3 innings. He has 20 saves in 23 chances. The 26-year-old will be under control through the 2029 season. Miller also came up as a starter, but a sprained UCL in his elbow led the A’s to put him in the bullpen. Sears also has multiple years of control, but shouldn’t get anyone too excited. The 29-year-old is 7–9 with a 4.95 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP with 97 strikeouts in 111 innings.

The issue here is that the Padres already have one of baseball’s best bullpens and an All-Star closer in Robert Suárez. Yes, Suárez can walk after this season, but there are several players under team control lined up to replace him. They didn’t need another reliever or a backend starter like Sears. The trade doesn’t solve their biggest problem, which is the massive hole in left field and their lack of offense from their catchers. Teamwide, they have a .698 OPS, which ranks 22nd in baseball.

While the deadline hasn’t passed, and more could come of this, Preller has spent his largest chip to strengthen a strength. This is the kind of haul a team gives up for an All-Star hitter with multiple years of control, not a closer who injured himself when he tried to start.

De Vries was arguably San Diego’s best prospect since Fernando Tatís Jr., and trading him is more proof that the future and development simply do not matter to Preller. He can find elite talent in the draft and on the international market, but struggles to let those players mature and join his big league roster. He is constantly in win-now mode, and it could be argued that that attitude has hurt the Padres.

The list of players Preller has traded who have become outstanding big leaguers is long and depressing if you’re a Padres fan. Trea Turner, Max Fried, James Wood, CJ Abrams, MacKenzie Gore, David Bednar, Emmanuel Clase, Josh Naylor, Andres Muñoz, Zach Eflin, Xavier Edwards and more have all been dealt in win-now moves. The best the Padres have to show for it is a 4–1 loss to the Phillies in the 2022 NLCS.

It has always felt like when Preller zeroes in on a player he likes, he’ll give up whatever it takes to get him, regardless of the cost. He did that in deals for Juan Soto, Mike Clevinger, Austin Nola and Justin Upton, among others.

Some will suggest the Padres have to be all-in now while Manny Machado and Tatís are in their primes. However, De Vries would likely have been called up in the next two years and could have been the kind of player to create a new long-term core alongside Tatís and Jackson Merrill. Instead, he’ll be playing elsewhere.

Preller is always cooking up something, so it’s likely more deals will come before the deadline. But the move for Miller is more of the same from his front office: Sacrificing future stars in an attempt to get marginally better in the short term.

If the Padres win a World Series, Preller will have been right. If they don’t, the franchise seriously has to consider reworking its philosophy.

Middlesex battle back from the brink to haul themselves into knock-outs in epic tussle

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay26-Aug-2025 Middlesex 292 for 9 (Fernandes 92, Morgan 61, de Caires 50, Singh 4-27) beat Lancashire 291 for 8 (Harris 64, Blatherwick 48*, Hollman 2-30, Brookes 2-57) by one wicket Nathan Fernandes’ brilliant 92 off 79 balls helped Middlesex conjure an extraordinary one-wicket over Lancashire in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup, a result that also ensures the visitors qualified for the quarter-finals of the competition.But the bland facts tell only half the story. Coming to the wicket with his side in the toils on 105 for five and needing another 186 runs, Fernandes put on 126 for the seventh wicket with Seb Morgan and despite being caught on the boundary in the final over, went on watch Noah Cornwell clinch the victory on an evening that recalled the great limited-overs matches on this ground.Part-time off-spinner Harry Singh had earlier taken a career-best four for 27 and it seemed the visitors’ chances were gone when they were 127 for six, despite Josh de Caires 50. But their hopes were raised in dramatic fashion late in the game by Fernandes and Morgan, whose fearless batting inspired a quite wonderful victory for their team.Having reached his maiden List A fifty, Morgan was eventually caught on the boundary off George Balderson for 61, but Fernandes went on to make his best List A score and the tailenders did the rest.Lancashire skipper Marcus Harris made 64 for the home side but the main acceleration towards a defendable total had come late in the innings from youngsters Arav Shetty and Joe Moores before Jack Blatherwick clubbed an alarmingly violent 48 in 20 balls.Lancashire’s innings had begun poorly when George Bell was caught behind by Joe Cracknell off Cornwell for a first-ball duck in the day’s opening over. Michael Jones and Harris then oversaw a recovery with a partnership of 61 in eleven overs before Jones, who had hit earlier hit two big leg-side sixes was caught by Jack Davies at deep square leg off Morgan for 42 when trying to repeat the trick.For the next 20 overs Lancashire’s batsmen struggled to score fluently on a stodgy pitch against an accurate Middlesex attack. Josh Bohannon made 24 off 33 balls but perished when he skied Luke Hollman to Morgan at mid-off. Hollman was clearly the pick of the visitors’ attack, bowling his ten overs for 30 runs, and in his penultimate over he took the prize wicket of Harris when the Lancashire skipper was lbw for 64 when trying to reverse sweep.It was left to the home side’s youngsters to supply some much-needed acceleration. Shetty made 30 off 23 balls and put on 50 with Singh, thereby hoisting the total to 192. And after Shetty and Balderson had fallen to successive balls from Henry Brookes, Moores clubbed two sixes in his 21-ball 35 before he top-edged de Caires to Noah Cornwell at deep square leg.Put under pressure, the Middlesex attack crumbled a little. Blatherwick maintained the tempo, whacking two sixes off a Cornwell over that cost 21 runs and a remarkable 99 runs were scored off the final nine overs, Blatherwick thrashing four sixes and four fours in an unbeaten innings that changed the shape of the game. Singh was dismissed in the penultimate over caught at mid-off by Ben Geddes off Gilchrist for a 116-ball 38. Apart from Hollman, Brookes was the most successful Middlesex bowler with two for 57.Middlesex’s pursuit began badly when Joe Cracknell was pinned on the back foot by Tom Bailey for ten and their intent to score quickly was constantly hampered by the regular fall of wickets.Sam Robson was bowled via bat, pad and foot by Singh for 31; Geddes lost his stumps in more conventional fashion to the same bowler for eight; Davies shovelled Balderson to Singh at midwicket when her had made only nine; and when Bailey ran across from deep mid-off to catch Hollman without scoring Middlesex were in deep trouble on 108 for five with almost half their overs gone.Seven overs later, de Caires holed out on the deep square leg boundary, Moores taking the catch to give Singh his fourth wicket but the rest of the day belonged to Fernandes and Morgan, whose partnership seems certain to become part of Middlesex folklore.