Hansi Flick has his two most important absentees back on the pitch. Raphinha and Frenkie De Jong joined full training on Thursday, two days before Barcelona travel to Seville to face Real Betis in La Liga.
Neither is a certainty for Saturday’s squad. The club’s medical staff will assess both before the trip, with Flick leaning toward caution rather than a quick turnaround.
That caution is sharpest around Raphinha. The Brazil forward was hurt on international duty earlier this month and has missed matches against Getafe and Galatasaray while working alone on the grass.
“The player still does not feel comfortable in his right leg because of the injury he suffered with the Brazil national team,” Flick said in the build-up.
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“It is clear that it is not a serious injury, but it requires attention because of his history of injuries, and we need to manage his situation carefully.”
De Jong’s road has been longer. The Dutch midfielder has been out for roughly two months with a knee problem and is only now closing in on a competitive return, with Saturday pencilled in as the earliest realistic target.
Flick’s leaders head back to Seville
Barcelona travel to Betis sitting top of La Liga on 24 points, five clear of a Real Betis side that has climbed to third on 19, per Sports Mole. The leaders arrive on an eight-match winning run in La Liga and have scored seven goals in their last two matches without Raphinha.
Kick-off at Estadio La Cartuja de Sevilla is at 6:30pm local time on Saturday, with the match listed on Barcelona’s official site as matchday nine.
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Three fixtures that shape October
Barcelona host Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday, 20 October, before welcoming Real Madrid for the first El Clásico of the season on Sunday, 25 October at 9pm local time, per the Real Madrid website.
A final call on Raphinha and De Jong is expected on Friday, when Flick names his squad for the trip to Seville.
