The 2023-24 season is still in its early phases but FC Barcelona are already facing a high number of injuries to some of their key players.
The Catalans have players like Frenkie de Jong and Pedri currently out with injuries, while Ronald Araujo has recovered from his own injury and is back in action now. Other players like Inigo Martinez and Andreas Christensen have also been dealing with fitness issues.
Raphinha injured
Another key player whom Barcelona lost to a month-long injury is the Brazilian forward Raphinha. The winger went out with a hamstring issue in the first half of the match against Sevilla.
After a slow start to the season, the Brazilian had been getting into good form in the last few weeks, and the latest injury is a significant setback for Xavi as well as for the player himself.
The player is expected to miss several matches before he recovers. Barcelona are aiming to get him back in time for El Classico at the end of October, but would not risk him even for this match if he is not fully fit.
Brazilian aiming to come back even stronger
Meanwhile, Raphinha has already started working on his recovery and is aiming to get back even stronger. Thus he shared in a message on his Instagram account, which went as:
Well, I would like to come here to thank everyone for the affection and messages from all those who are sending positive energy. Unfortunately, I will be away for a few weeks, but very soon we will be back, stronger than ever.
While Raphinha’s absence is definitely a blow for Xavi, he will not be missed too much because of the wealth of options available to him.
As already reported here, Xavi has four major options to replace him in the lineup, and Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres can slot into his position even without Xavi having to change his overall system.
