Key Barcelona star played through muscle problems during Spanish Supercup | OneFootball

Barcelona forward Raphinha was the star of the show on Sunday night as they ran out 3-2 winners in the Spanish Supercup, defeating arch rivals Real Madrid to lift the trophy for a second year running. The Brazilian grabbed a brace for the Catalans, and was once again a key figure for Hansi Flick.

It was something of a surprise that Raphinha was withdrawn with seven minutes to go, on a hat-trick, and with Barcelona defending a 3-2 lead. Marcus Rashford replaced him, and did have two chances to seal the game on the break.

Raphinha played through muscle discomfort

The reason for his substitution was not purely tactical, say Radio Catalunya. Raphinha was seen in a heartfelt embrace with Flick after the match, and went to hug Dr. Ricard Pruna after being taken off. They say that the medical staff have been working hard with Raphinha to get him in condition to play, despite suffering muscle discomfort in his left hamstring in recent weeks.

Image via Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images

Raphinha’s limited minutes

The medical staff and Flick agreed that Raphinha was in condition to play 60 minutes against Espanyol in Barcelona’s first game back after the winter break, and another 60 minutes against Athletic Club in the Supercup semi-final, without risk of injury. In the final, that limit was raised to 75 minutes. In each case, Raphinha did excede that number, playing 64 minutes in the Catalan derby, 65 minutes against Athletic, and 83 minutes against Real Madrid.

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Raphinha’s injury issues this season

It may raise particular concern amongst Barcelona fans, who saw a different side without their Brazilian talisman in the first game of the season. Raphinha suffered a hamstring injury at the end of September, and was due to be out for two to three weeks, but after relapsing from the injury four weeks later, ended up missing nearly two months of action.

In total, Raphinha missed nine games through injury, including two international breaks with Brazil. During those games, Barcelona suffered three defeats and won five games, highlighting his impact.