Opponent watch – Barcelona captain out of Real Madrid encounter | OneFootball

Only 48 hours remain before the two behemoths of La Liga collide as Real Madrid host FC Barcelona for the first El Clasico of the 2025/26 season.

Leading up to the game, though, Barcelona find themselves in a myriad of problems with injury and fitness issues plaguing several key members of the squad.

Raphinha out

One such player happens to be key winger Raphinha, who has now been ruled out of Sunday’s El Clasico, reports Jijantes FC.

The 28-year-old attacker, one of Hansi Flick’s most important players and a club captain, has been out of action since late September due to a hamstring injury.

However, after having missed five games in a row, Raphinha had resumed training normally earlier this week, and it was believed that he would be fit and available to face Real Madrid.

No Raphinha for Barcelona. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)

But, as per the report, the Brazilian international had some problems on Thursday and could not finish the training session and did not participate today either.

As such, he has been ruled out of the Clasico, which will come as a big blow for Barcelona and a major boost for Real Madrid.

Several absentees for Barcelona

Apart from Raphinha, the reigning La Liga champions are also without Gavi, Robert Lewandowski, Joan Garcia, Dani Olmo, and Marc-Andre ter Stegen for the heavyweight encounter.

Jules Kounde is also a doubt for the game after having missed two consecutive training sessions due to a knock.

As for Real Madrid, only Antonio Rudiger and David Alaba are set to be absent, with the injured quartet of Dani Carvajal, Dani Ceballos, Dean Huijsen, and Trent Alexander-Arnold all expected to be fit and available.