The collapse of Raphinha

BarcelonaThe layoff forecast for Raphinha Dias after tearing the same muscle for the third time this season is five weeks. This is the prediction of Barça's medical services, officially communicated last Friday afternoon, after evaluating the footballer thousands of kilometers away. There were no more diagnostic elements than the tests commissioned by the Brazilian national team and the sensations of the Barça forward himself, who, a few hours after being substituted by Carlo Ancelotti at halftime of a friendly against France due to "discomfort", already conveyed that he was "broken". There will be no examination at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper, with the instruments and knowledge of the club's professionals until this Monday, when Raphinha is expected to leave the refuge of his people to return to the blaugrana discipline.

If the player has bypassed the internal protocols foreseen for these cases, it is because he has collapsed at the decisive moment of the season. Initially, Barça expected him to return to Europe at the beginning of this week and that, until starting treatment in Catalonia, he would control the muscle inflammation with ice and rest. However, Raphinha asked for more time to be with his family in Brazil. Hansi Flick and Deco, after an intense internal deliberation, decided to grant him this, thinking more about the mental than the physical aspect. "It is not Raphinha's first injury this season. I spoke with him on FaceTime [a video call service] and he was very affected and down. We gave him a few days to be in Brazil, with his family," explained the Barça coach in the preview of the match against Atlètic de Madrid this Saturday (9 PM, DAZN).

Regarding his replacement in the starting eleven, Flick has said they have several options, such as Marcus Rashford or also Fermín, while he has very positively valued Gavi's week of training. "He is at a very good level," he said about a player with whom he maintains an excellent relationship. Nevertheless, while he recovers emotionally from the blow, Raphinha has also started working with a physiotherapist he trusts, which once again confirms that part of the locker room does not trust the advice and recovery guidelines designed by the current staff and opts to place themselves in the hands of external specialists paid out of their own pocket. "There are no culprits. It's an injury and you have to live with it, it's part of it. It's not coming at a good time," lamented the German coach, not wanting to add more fuel to the fire regarding the delicate situation this season with the Brazilian's injuries.

Type of suffering injuries and relapses in the same area, and aware that if he does not heal completely he could miss a World Cup in which he hopes to be very important for the canarinha, Raphinha has taken the right approach to his recovery. It's a recurring problem with the player who this season was the first to raise his hand regarding injury management. After getting injured at the end of September and relapsing twice when they tried to force him during October, he managed to get the head of the physical trainers, Julio Tous, to stop overseeing player rehabilitation. His return at the end of November improved Flick's team's performance, but it didn't mean he regained faith in the club's professionals. In fact, in January he went through three matches with discomfort that was not accompanied by any medical report, and in February he was one of the most belligerent in a plea from the players to the German coach for training sessions to include more strength work.

"We have to see what we have to change and what he has to change," Flick maintained a few weeks ago, who still refuses to blame only one person for Raphinha's problems, a player as crucial to his system as Pedri or Lamine Yamal. Where the Canary midfielder brings calm and the Mataró winger invokes magic, the Brazilian attacker unleashes hunger through tireless pressure and constant threat in space. "There is a Barça with Raphinha and a Barça without him," the ex-Culé Ivan Rakitić declared a few days ago, aware of the virtues of a footballer who last season merited winning the Ballon d'Or and who this season has maintained his aura whenever injuries have allowed him. 19 goals and 7 assists back him up in just 31 appearances. But it is in the intangibles where he truly makes a difference compared to the inconsistent Marcus Rashford, who on paper is set to fill his void throughout April, when Europe's top clubs are playing for all the marbles.