Good news for Barcelona and for Hansi Flick. Raphinha will return to training at the start of next week.
He is returning from injury at the most crucial stage of the season. The Brazilian forward may get few minutes on the field against Osasuna, but that is not the primary aim: El Clasico on the 10th May is.
The timing is everything here. Barcelona lost Lamine Yamal through hamstring injury and was reported he would not play again this season. Cancelo also departed the field injured at the weekend against Celta Vigo, but there is no point of concern. He will be back against Getafe in the next match.
The squad is thin at precisely the wrong stage of the title race and at precisely the point where the toughest matches are yet to be played.
Raphinha returning, even partially, against Osasuna would grant Flick an opportunity to give the Brazilian a few minutes to gain match sharpness before trusting him into the Clasico at the Bernabeu. That appears to be the smartest route and it would seem that both club and player have aligned to approach it that way.
Raphinha has been Barcelona's one of the most consistent performers and without him the team has struggled massively in important games, which is pretty evident by his win-rate statistics for Barcelona.
If he returns for El Clasico anywhere near his previous form, it turns the game completely in Barcelona’s favour.
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