The alarms went off yesterday at FC Barcelona when Raphinha felt some discomfort and asked for a change in the match against Osasuna for the semi-final of the Spanish Super Cup. In his place came the youthful Lamine Yamal, scorer after the second goal that sealed the victory and the pass to the final for the Catalan team.
The departure of the Brazilian winger, three minutes from the end of the first half, was the sour note in the midst of the celebrations for the result. A priori, Xavi knows that he will not be able to count on him for the final of the tournament against Real Madrid, which will be played next Sunday at the Al-Awwal stadium in Riyadh.
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“The tests carried out today have shown that the first team player Raphinha suffers a muscle injury to the femoral biceps of his left thigh," the Barça club said in a statement. “He is low and his evolution will determine his availability," he added, without specifying how long he will be out.
[COMUNICADO MÉDICO]
Las pruebas realizadas hoy han mostrado que el jugador del primer equipo 𝗥𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗵𝗮 sufre una lesión muscular en el bíceps femoral del muslo izquierdo. Es baja y su evolución marcará su disponibilidad pic.twitter.com/vW7fuar5L0
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es) January 12, 2024
The casualties at FC Barcelona
The injury to the former Leeds player comes at a very bad time. FC Barcelona is having an irregular season in terms of results and level of play and sees in defending the Super Cup the possibility of starting to turn the campaign around.
Raphinha thus joins the list of forced absences that already includes Gavi, Ter Stegen, Marcos Alonso, Iñigo Martínez and João Cancelo. The entry of Yamal from the start is in this context a viable option, although Xavi could also replace Ferran Torres or João Félix to accompany Robert Lewandowski.
