Barcelona Forward Raphinha Ruled Out of El Clásico After Hamstring Setback

Barcelona forward Raphinha has been ruled out of Sunday’s El Clásico clash against Real Madrid after suffering a setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury, a source told ESPN on Friday.

The 28-year-old Brazilian has not featured since Barcelona’s victory over Real Oviedo on 25 September but had returned to training earlier this week, raising hopes he might be included on the bench for this weekend’s encounter at the Santiago Bernabéu.

However, Raphinha experienced discomfort during Friday’s training session and will remain sidelined for the foreseeable future.
The source did not specify an exact timeframe for his return but indicated it could take several more weeks before he is fit to play again.

His recovery has already taken longer than initially anticipated. Barcelona originally announced that he would be out for approximately three weeks following the injury sustained in Oviedo. He has now missed a full month of action and may not feature again before the upcoming international break.
Following the Madrid trip, Barcelona are scheduled to face Elche, Club Brugge and Celta Vigo before club football pauses in November.

Raphinha’s absence adds to Barcelona’s growing injury concerns. Marc-André ter Stegen, Joan García, Gavi, Dani Olmo and Robert Lewandowski have all been ruled out, while Jules Koundé and Andreas Christensen remain fitness doubts ahead of the crucial fixture.

Sunday’s match marks the first El Clásico of the season, pitting LaLiga’s top two sides against each other. Real Madrid currently sit two points clear of Barcelona at the summit, although the Catalan club won all four meetings between the two sides last campaign.

Barça head coach Hansi Flick will also be unavailable on the touchline after Spain’s Sports Administrative Court (TAD) rejected the club’s appeal against his red card from last weekend’s victory over Girona. Flick was dismissed in stoppage time for receiving two yellow cards — the first for allegedly sarcastically applauding a referee’s decision and the second for his reaction to the booking.

The German manager has insisted he was actually applauding his own player, Frenkie de Jong, but the appeal has been dismissed, meaning he will serve the suspension and watch the match from the stands.

As a result, Barcelona have confirmed that Flick will not conduct Saturday’s pre-match press conference, with his assistant Marcus Sorg set to address the media instead.