FC Barcelona have missed a lot of players at different points since the start of the 2025/26 season, but no one’s absence has been felt more than that of Raphinha.
It has been around six weeks since the Brazilian last played for the Catalan club and, in his absence, the team has endured a major slump. In fact, it would not be an exaggeration to say that he has been missed more than Lamine during his absence.
Raphinha is essential to how Flick’s team plays. He leads the press from the front, and his intensity rubs off on his teammates. Without him, there is a major drop in intensity in Barcelona’s press up front.
According to [SPORT](https://www.sport.es/es/noticias/barca/vuelve-optimismo-raphinha-123318399), optimism has returned regarding the recovery of the South American star, and it has not been ruled out that he could make the trip to Vigo this weekend. However, Raphinha will not feature against Club Brugge.
Raphinha was close to a return ahead of El Clásico and even trained with the team for a couple of days, before [not-so-good sensations forced him to pull out](https://semprebarca.com/no-relapse-for-barcelona-star-but-he-wont-play-against-real-madrid/). The femoral biceps injury is taking its time to heal, but the return date could be very soon.
Depending on how he feels, and if he trains with the team in the lead-up to this weekend, Raphinha could either return to the squad then or take it easy and return to action in Barcelona’s next La Liga game.
It is hard to overstate how important it is that Raphinha returns fully fit for Barcelona. His presence can galvanise the faltering team and also allow Flick to rest Yamal, and let’s wait and see how things play out.