Barcelona confirm Raphinha injury – return date revealed

Barcelona will be without Raphinha for Sunday’s La Liga showdown between themselves and Real Sociedad at Anoeta. The 29-year-old, who has been in excellent form over the last couple of months, picked up a knock in the victory over Racing de Santander three days ago, and as such, the decision has been made for him not to travel to Donostia-San Sebastian.

During his pre-match press conference on Saturday, Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick confirmed that Raphinha was a doubt for the match. The final decision on his availability was to be made in the coming hours, and with important fixtures coming up, it has been decided that he will not play.

Barcelona have released a medical report on Raphinha, in which they have confirmed that his omission from the squad to face La Real is merely a precaution. As such, it is expected that he would return for the midweek trip to Slavia Prague in the Champions League.

“First team player Raphinha sits out the game against Real Sociedad as a precaution due to a knock to the right thigh.”

Who will replace Raphinha against La Real?

As far as the match against La Real goes, Barcelona have a number of candidates to replace Raphinha. Marcus Rashford is the most obvious, and it is expected that he will be given the nod by Flick, although there are chances for Fermin Lopez, Ferran Torres or Roony Bardghji to also be selected in his place.

Barcelona have not been at their best when Raphinha has not played, so his absence for a tricky test against La Real is far from ideal. Nevertheless, they will hope that a victory can be secured, before welcoming back the Brazil international for the trip to Prague in the next few days.

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