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FC Barcelona winger Raphinha will be out for a month to five weeks after injuring his right thigh.
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FC Barcelona received terrible news from the United States heading towards the weekend.
That Raphinha had to leave Brazil’s 3-2 defeat to France in Foxborough at half time while complaining of muscle discomfort already sent Culers into panic back over the Atlantic.
Later on Friday evening in Catalonia, however, the club and its fans worst fears were confirmed when the Brazilian football association, known as the CBF, published an official statement.
“Players Raphinha and Wesley were released this Friday (27) by coach Carlo Ancelotti. Both felt pain in the posterior region of the right thigh during the match against France,” the statement began.
“On Friday, the athletes underwent imaging tests that confirmed muscle injuries. The players have been released to follow the treatment. No other athletes will be called to replace them,” the correspondence then finished.
Mundo Deportivo’s Fernando Polo reported that Raphinha’s camp said the former Ballon d’Or candidate would be out for a month.
Swiftly following the CBF’s announcement, however, FC Barcelona released its own statement and put the absence timeframe at five weeks.
This is a sporting disaster for the Catalans. April is stacked with important fixtures, meaning Raphinha is certain to miss both legs of a Champions League quarterfinal showdown with Atletico Madrid on April 8th and 14th, plus a hypothetical semifinal first leg on the 28th or 29th should Hansi Flick’s men make it that far.
In La Liga, there’s another away trip to the Metropolitano to take on Atleti on April 4, in addition to the derby with Espanyol on April 11th and vital meetings key to the title race such as Getafe and Celta Vigo.
What now for FC Barcelona?
With Flick reportedly furious at having lost one of his biggest stars, the German now has a decision to make regarding his strategy moving forward.
The biggest like-for-like swap would see Marcus Rashford come straight in on the left wing.
On Friday, the England international earned plaudits for dangerous runs down that same channel for the Three Lions at Wembley, which burned his Barca teammate Ronald Araujo in addition to Real Madrid’s Fede Valverde in a 1-1 draw against Uruguay.
Depending on when Alejandro Balde comes back from his own knock, Joao Cancelo can be pushed up from left back to left wing, which is something we sometimes saw during the Portuguese’s first loan spell under Xavi Hernandez.
Though he isn’t a pure winger, we’ve also witnessed Fermin Lopez lined up on the left which would free up the CAM ‘10’ role for Dani Olmo; that’s at least until Gavi is fit enough to challenge him for it.
On Saturday, against Atletico, we’ll see how Flick approaches this dilemma.
At present, though, it’s likely that Rashford gets the nod primarily in a major opportunity to prove his worth and state a case for his loan deal from Manchester United being made permanent.
Cancelo will probably be the left back, and Fermin the CAM amid the lead over Real Madrid at the Spanish top flight summit being just four points.
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