Barcelona winger to undergo further tests on Friday following minor injury on national team duty | OneFootball

Raphinha is on his way back to Barcelona. The Blaugrana captain, arguably the most in-form player at the moment alongside teammate Lamine Yamal, is returning to Catalonia after giving the supporters a significant injury scare.

Starting in Brazil’s friendly against Australia earlier this week, the 29-year-old winger was taken off at half-time, following which it was confirmed that he was dealing with muscular discomfort in his thigh.

While the issue is not understood to be a major one, the Brazilian national team have released the winger from the camp to allow him to recover.

No urgency

Now, according to SPORT, from the outset, Raphinha told Barcelona that he did not believe the problem was serious, but said he would undergo tests to confirm it.

On his way back from Australia, Raphinha will be on a very long flight, meaning he will not be able to undergo medical tests today.

Raphinha is on his way back to Barcelona. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)

As such, the current plan is for Raphinha to rest on Thursday and probably undergo tests on Friday at the Joan Gamper Sports City, where he will meet the club’s medical team.

That schedule could be brought forward, but the message from Barcelona remains that there is no reason for alarm and no need to rush the process.

Previous concerns

Barcelona were already concerned because of what happened during the previous season whenever Raphinha was called up by Brazil.

Those concerns were heightened by the demands of this international break: more than 40,000 kilometres of travel to the other side of the world, for three matches against Australia and India.

Injury not serious. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

As soon as the club learned about the player’s discomfort, Barcelona requested that he return immediately to avoid taking further risks, undergo examinations.

But since then, those worries have eased and there is no major concern because, at this stage, the problem is not considered serious.

In fact, barring an unexpected development, he should be available for the Getafe match right after the international break.

Barcelona are nevertheless expected to take no risks given the demanding run of fixtures ahead, including Galatasaray, PSG and the Clasico against Real Madrid.