Barcelona may have won their Spanish Super Cup semi-final against Osasuna on Thursday evening, but it was not a perfect occasion for Xavi Hernandez and his side. The good news was that Pedri returned from his own absence, but as has been the case on multiple occasions, it is a case of one-for-one at the Catalans.
That is because Raphinha had to be forced off in the first time against Los Rojillos. Post-match, head coach Xavi Hernandez confirmed that the Brazilian had suffered a hamstring injury, and Sport have now followed that up with a diagnosis – they say that he will be out for at least two weeks because of the problem.
It means that Raphinha will miss Sunday’s Superclasico, and also the La Liga clash with Real Betis the following weekend. He will undergo an MRI in the next 24 hours in order to find out more about the extent of the injury, but the expectation is that he won’t return until the end of January at the very earliest.
It’s a bitter blow for Barcelona, considering that Raphinha has been their brightest attacker in recent weeks. Fortunately, they do have a ready-made replacement in Lamine Yamal, while Ferran Torres can also cover on the right wing.
This is actually good. Raphinha has zero vision unlike lamine. Him injured forces xavi to use him