Raphinha misses the key stretch of the season with Barça

BarcelonaBarça is once again a victim of the FIFA virus. Raphinha suffers an injury to the right thigh's femoral biceps and will be out for around five weeks, as confirmed by Barça after the medical tests carried out by the Brazilian national team. The player was withdrawn injured from the friendly he played on Thursday with Brazil after feeling a twinge in the back of his right leg and will return to Barcelona in the coming hours to begin his recovery. ARA had already reported that the footballer's initial sensations were not good at all and everything pointed to a muscle tear. The club is unhappy with the calendar for scheduling friendly matches at this point in the season when teams are fighting for titles.

It is a very important loss for Hansi Flick, who loses a key player at the decisive moment of the season. Next week, Barça will return to work with all the internationals to prepare for the duel on Saturday, April 4, at the Atlético de Madrid stadium (9 p.m.). It will be the first of the three duels that the Catalans and the Mattress Makers will play, two of which correspond to the quarterfinals of the Champions League. In between, Hansi Flick's team will play the derby against Espanyol at Camp Nou. Raphinha will miss the four matches and could reappear on May 10 against Real Madrid. His participation in hypothetical Champions League semifinals against Arsenal or Sporting de Portugal is also up in the air, as the first leg will be on Wednesday, April 29, and the second leg on Tuesday, May 5.

A new muscular injury

The Brazilian player already missed several matches in October and November after an injury to the middle third of the right thigh's hamstring, which occurred at the Oviedo stadium. At that time, he was out for three weeks and missed, among others, the matches against PSG and Real Madrid, both with defeats. Furthermore, he was also unavailable in February due to a strain in the adductor of his right leg, which prevented him from playing the first leg of the Copa del Rey quarter-finals against Atlético de Madrid (4-0).

In total, Raphinha has missed thirteen matches due to injury this season, 28%. Without the Brazilian, Barça has not been able to win in six of the thirteen duels, 46% (seven wins, five losses, and one draw). In contrast, with the Brazilian available, the winning percentage rises to 87%, with only two losses (Chelsea and Girona) and two draws (Rayo Vallecano and Newcastle). This data demonstrates Raphinha's importance in Hansi Flick's system, especially when it comes to initiating pressure in the opponent's half.