Barcelona got the test result it wanted this week. The relief ended there.
Scans on Raphinha’s right thigh confirmed only a small muscle edema in the back of the leg, with no tear and no structural damage. The Brazilian had been sent back from his national team’s camp earlier in the week after limping off at halftime of a 4-2 friendly win over Australia.
Even with the clean verdict, the club will not rush him. According to reporting on the manager’s thinking, Flick is already lining up a replacement for the La Liga meeting with Getafe on 10 October, with the captain highly unlikely to feature.
Flick’s lesson from last October
The German has reason to be cautious. In October 2025, he brought Raphinha back into training early from a thigh problem, and the forward suffered a relapse of the same injury in the same area. Raphinha ended up missing 25 games for club and country last season with recurring hamstring issues in his right leg.
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This season has been very different. Raphinha has 14 goals so far this season, 12 of them in La Liga, where he leads Barcelona’s scoring charts.
That form is exactly why Flick does not want to touch the schedule. The two matches that will shape Barcelona’s October are now a fortnight away, and he intends to have his captain available for both.
No risk before Paris and the Clasico
Barcelona travel to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on 20 October, before hosting Real Madrid in the Clasico on 25 October. In between come a Champions League trip to Galatasaray on 13 October and a league visit to Real Betis.
No formal return date has been set. The club is framing the decision match by match, and Raphinha’s next step will be at the training ground before any question of a lineup.
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The first fixture on the horizon without him is Camp Nou on 10 October against Getafe.
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