Barcelona captain training individually, working on a return for Copa del Rey semifinal | OneFootball

Barcelona demolished Mallorca by a 3-0 scoreline last night at the Spotify Camp Nou, taking all three points and pulling further away at the top of the league table.

One notable absentee on the night was Raphinha, the club captain who still had not recovered from the muscular setback he suffered against Elche.

The player thus missed his second straight game, and while Barcelona did come out with wins on both occasions, his absence was undoubtedly felt.

Focused on specific work

As relayed by Mundo Deportivo in a recent report, Barcelona trained earlier today in the recovery session post the Mallorca game, but Raphinha was still absent from group training.

Instead, the Brazilian winger continued to do specific work individually with the aim of securing the green light at the earliest. After all, Barcelona have a massive game midweek against Atletico Madrid.

Flick will hope to have Raphinha back midweek. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

As it stands, all signs point to the former Leeds United star being available for the Copa del Rey game on Thursday, and the specific work he was training was geared towards helping him reach that deadline.

The team have been handed a rest on Monday and will return to training on Tuesday to prepare for the game against Diego Simeone’s side. Raphinha’s availability to train with the group on that day, needless to say, will go a long way in deciding his return.

So far this season, Raphinha has made 14 league appearances for Barcelona and has eight goals and three assists to show in that duration.

Injuries, however, have not been kind to him and he has repeatedly faced minor setbacks that have prevented him from seeing continuity this season. 

His fitness, needless to say, will be a cause of concern and focus for Hansi Flick heading into the business end of the season.