Barcelona concerned as 17 players depart for international duty, with club captain a particular worry | OneFootball

FC Barcelona have sent 17 players away on international duty during the latest break, prompting some concern at the club over the risk of injuries and fatigue, reports MARCA.

The number was originally 18, but Andreas Christensen has been ruled out of Denmark’s squad with discomfort in his left quadriceps.

There is no alarm at Barcelona, but there is understandable unease given the excellent form of several players and the amount of travel involved, particularly for Raphinha.

After all, the Blaugrana have seen players return from international duty injured in the past, making the current break another period to negotiate carefully.

Who are the players travelling?

Seven Barça players are with Luis de la Fuente’s Spain squad: Pau Cubarsi, Eric Garcia, Rodri, Pedri, Fermin Lopez, Dani Olmo and Lamine Yamal.

Spain face four Nations League fixtures, with matches against England and Czechia away from home, as well as two meetings with Croatia, one at home and one away.

Croatia’s squad also includes goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic.

17 Barcelona players will be involved in the international break. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

At Under-21 level, Xavi Espart and Marc Bernal are involved as Spain continue their qualification campaign for the 2027 European Championship. They have three matches scheduled against Finland, San Marino and Romania.

Meanwhile, Karim Adeyemi and Anthony Gordon have been called up by Germany and England, respectively.

Jules Kounde is a part of the France squad under new manager Zinedine Zidane.

The remaining internationals include Raphinha with Brazil, João Cancelo with Portugal, Hamza Abdelkarim with Egypt and Jesse Bisiwu with Belgium Under-21s.

Raphinha is the biggest concern

And, as per the report, Barcelona are paying particular attention to Raphinha.

The Brazilian is currently the club’s most prolific player, with 14 goals in eight matches in all competitions, and his international schedule involves extensive travel.

Brazil will play two matches in Australia, in Townsville and Brisbane, before another fixture in Kolkata, India.

The concern is therefore not limited to the matches themselves. The long flights and accumulated fatigue could also affect Raphinha’s physical condition.

Raphinha’s situation is of particular concern. (Photo by Judit Cartiel/Getty Images)

Barcelona have previous experience of seeing players return from international duty with injuries. Raphinha, Lamine, Gavi and Frenkie de Jong, among others, have all experienced problems following international commitments.

Raphinha has particular reason for caution. At the last World Cup, he suffered discomfort in the posterior muscle of his right thigh.

Several months earlier, in March, he had already injured the same area during a Brazil-France friendly in the United States. He was released from the Brazil squad and eventually spent five weeks on the sidelines.

With Raphinha now in exceptional goalscoring form, Flick and Barcelona will be hoping he can complete his international commitments and return to club football without any physical problems.