Raphinha Injury Update: Will Brazilian Winger Feature in El Clasico?

Despite FC Barcelona's dominating win over Olympiacos, however, tensions have risen for German gaffer Hansi Flick as his star Barzilian winger is set to be sidelined for another month. After several key players missing out, Raphinha's absence might hugely affect Barca's overall performance at the iconic Santiago Bernabeu. Dani Olmo was ruled out due to injury in the last game. To make things even worse, Barca already has a list of active injured players, including the likes of Gavi, Joan Garcia, Ter Stegen, and Robert Lewandowski. After an impressive performance against Real Oviedo, where Raphinha took 3 shots, he was forcefully subbed off due to medical reasons. He felt a slight discomfort in his right hamstring, and the medical team determined no risk and subbed him off immediately at the hour mark. Barca won the game 3-1, but were very worried about the fitness of their star winger.

Raphinha Injury Details

After being sidelined for a few matches, Raphinha returned to light training with the squad on Thursday and was looking to prove his fitness to feature in the first El Clasico of the season. However, he felt discomfort during the training and is now expected to be sidelined for a lengthy period (around a month). Though Barcelona haven't disclosed anything about Raphinha injury update.

How Does Raphinha's Injury Affect Barcelona?

Barcelona have some important games lined up ahead of them. They will be against their arch-rivals, Real Madrid, who are currently top of the table with 2-point difference. His absence might haunt Hansi Flick's side in their upcoming blockbuster clash. The 36-time Spanish league winners are in sublime form and will look to exploit the absence left behind by him. Blaugrana will face Elche in La Liga before setting their sight on a European fixture.

It will be interesting to see who will step up to fill Raphinha's void. The good news is Lamine Yamal is almost back, and Marcus Rashford is in brilliant form. Depending upon the formation, Flick might also prefer Dani Olmo over Ferran Torres for the game against PSG.

When Will Raphinha Return?

As the timeline suggests, Raphinha could be back on the pitch by mid-November. He might need some more time to become fully match fit. He could be on the bench against Celta de Vigo and might be back in the starting 11 against the anticipated clash against Athletic Club in the latter half of November.