FC Barcelona have a decent depth in terms of the quality of wingers that they possess. Despite losing French winger Ousmane Dembele and Moroccan star Ez Abde to PSG and Real Betis respectively this summer, as well as having loaned out Ansu Fati to Brighton, Barcelona still possess a reliable pool of wingers.
Perhaps the most trusted and arguably most important winger that Barcelona possess right now is former Leeds United star Raphinha. The 26-year-old Brazilian winger was brought in last summer as an alternative to Ousmane Dembele and it seems that the time is now right for him to showcase his true level to Xavi and fans of La Blaugrana.
However, a slow start to the season managed to materialize following a sending-off against Getafe in the league opener. Since then, he has seemingly lost his place to emerging 16-year-old prodigy Lamine Yamal, and has only now managed to play regularly while he is away on International duty with Brazil.
According to Spanish outlet SPORT, however, the schedule for the Brazilian National team in accordance to the most recent game against Peru for their South American World Cup Qualification has become a massive hurdle for Raphinha keeping in mind the upcoming game for FC Barcelona against Real Betis in La Liga.
Despite the fact that he would otherwise remain a starter for La Blaugrana given his ability as well as the fact that Lamine Yamal still needs to develop with proper care rather than be rushed on such huge stages without the right care and rest, the Brazilian’s arrival could end up being too late to be match fit in time to start against Betis.
The Brazilian ended up starting against Peru in his side’s most recent international fixture which ended as a 1-0 victory for the Brazilian outfit. The 26-year-old winger started and played 84 minutes during the game, possibly leaving him already fatigued with not too much time left to rest before Barcelona take on their upcoming domestic test.
With a maximum of three days now left for him to get revitalized before Barcelona take on a strong Real Betis side, Raphinha will also be a victim to a long flight back to Catalonia as well as having to partake in only two training sessions at maximum before the match itself comes around.
Xavi will ultimately be the one to decide his final eleven to start against Real Betis, but it appears that Raphinha may still have to wait a little bit longer until he is able to regain his spot as Barca’s primary winger.
