Barcelona will be without Raphinha for the upcoming Champions League tie with Atlético Madrid after the forward was ruled out for five weeks with a hamstring injury.
Raphinha, 29, sustained the knock in the first half of Brazil’s 2-1 friendly defeat to France at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Thursday.
After being taken off at halftime, tests carried out by the Brazil medical team Friday confirmed an injury to his right hamstring.
Raphinha will now return to Barcelona for treatment, but he will not feature again until May and will miss some huge upcoming games for his club.
Barça face Atlético three times in the next couple of weeks, starting with a trip to the Metropolitano next Saturday as they look to keep their four-point lead over Real Madrid at the top of LaLiga in tact.
They then face Atlético again over two legs in the Champions League quarterfinal, with the first leg scheduled for Spotify Camp Nou on April 8 and the return leg in Madrid on April 14.
If Barça win that tie, they would then host Arsenal or Sporting CP in the first leg of the semifinal at the end of April in the semifinal, with the return match away at the start of May, games which Raphinha would also likely miss.
It is the third time this season Raphinha, who has 19 goals in 31 appearances this term, has injured his right hamstring.
He missed 13 games for club and country between September and November and another three games in January and February.
Marcus Rashford could benefit from Raphinha’s latest injury, with the English forward the most likely to take his place on the left of the attack, although coach Hansi Flick has other options.
Dani Olmo and Fermín López have both been used wide in the past, as has Ferran Torres, while João Cancelo and Roony Bardghji are also candidates to play their if needed.
