Barcelona suffered another injury issue during Friday’s victory over Sevilla, with Raphinha suffering a hamstring injury. He joins midfield duo Pedri and Frenkie de Jong on the sidelines, and is expected to be out of action for three to four weeks.
Raphinha had been Barcelona’s first-choice right winger in recent weeks, although he played centrally during the match against Sevilla. It means that it is a big blow for head coach Xavi Hernandez, although as MD have eluded to, he does have several options as his disposal to replace the Brazilian.
Lamine Yamal started the match against Sevilla on the right wing, and he has been in excellent form so far this season. He is a more than capable replacement, although Xavi is keen to manage his minutes accordingly.
Ferran Torres also plays on the right wing, and he has been in good form too this season. Like Lamine Yamal, he is more than capable of stepping up in Raphinha’s absence.
Fermin Lopez replaced Raphinha against Sevilla, and the 20-year-old produced an excellent performance. Xavi will know that he can count on Fermin going forward, which he may look to do. Finally, Joao Cancelo can be pushed forward if necessary, with Ronald Araujo, Jules Kounde and Sergi Roberto as options at right-back.
It is testament to the squad that Barcelona have built over the last 12-15 months that they still have such a strong squad with the likes of Pedri, de Jong and Raphinha unavailable. However, they are still likely to be significant misses.
