Barcelona have been hampered with injuries since the start of the season this year, and that cycle shows little sign of relenting so far. There is hope that they are close to getting back one of the players that is missed most by Hansi Flick.
Ahead of their trip to Belgium to face Club Brugge in the Champions League, Andreas Christensen was expected to be given the green light to play again. The Danish defender pulled up in training though, and left the session early, leaving his fitness in doubt. He joins a list of six absences, alongside Pedri, Gavi, Raphinha, Joan Garcia and Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Frenkie de Jong and Marc Casadó will have to be cautious against Club Brugge tomorrow. A yellow card would see them miss out on the game against Chelsea. @RogerTorello
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) November 4, 2025
Optimism at Barcelona over Raphinha return
Nevertheless, Sport report that there is hope over a return for Raphinha ahead of schedule. Originally he was aiming to be back for El Clasico two weekends ago, but the coaching staff tested him out ahead of time with negative results. After that, Raphinha reportedly relapsed and was due to be out until at least after the international break. From the original three-week absence predicted, the Brazilian has now been absent for six weeks.
Now though there is some hope that he could be back in action as soon as this weekend. While he will miss their trip to Brugge, Raphinha could be available for some minutes against Celta Vigo at Balaidos on Sunday. Flick may consider passing up the opportunity to use Raphinha anyway as a precaution, given the number of chronic injury issues that have plagued the side this season.
Raphinha sorely missed by Hansi Flick
The Barcelona manager has highlighted on several occasions that his side misses Raphinha. Last season he became a leader for the Blaugrana, but also led the press defensively, and was the primary runner off the ball for his side. Without him, Barcelona have turned to Marcus Rashford, who has responded with goals and assists, but does not provide the same benefits for his teammates.
