Barcelona sweating on fitness of key player for El Clasico

Barcelona are going into El Clasico later this month without a number of players that could/would have started, such as Joan Garcia, Dani Olmo and Robert Lewandowski. They should have Lamine Yamal and Fermin Lopez available after their own injury issues, but the same guarantee cannot be made for Raphinha.

Three weeks ago, it was confirmed that Raphinha had suffered a hamstring injury in the victory at Real Oviedo. Initially, he was ruled out for 2-3 weeks, but it now appears that his absence will be extended.

As per Sport, Raphinha has yet to recovery from his recovery, which means that he will miss Saturday’s Catalan derby against Girona, which takes place at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in Montjuic.

Given that there are only three days between the Girona and Olympiacos matches, there is every chance that Raphinha is also ruled out of the Champions League clash too. That has not been confirmed yet, with the likelihood being that a decision is made by Barcelona’s medical staff after the weekend.

Barcelona need Raphinha back as soon as possible

Marcus Rashford has been Barcelona’s best attacking player in recent weeks, but it is clear that Raphinha is still missed. The trio could play together with the on-loan Manchester United man as a striker, which will be something that Hans Flick needs to consider for the coming weeks.

Barcelona will be fully aware that they cannot afford to rush Raphinha back early, as losing him for longer would be a massive blow. It makes sense for him to not play against Girona and Olympiacos, but that would mean that he arrives cold at the Santiago Bernabeu, which would make it a doubt to start in El Clasico – a match in which he scored five goals last season (in four appearances).