{"id":15597,"date":"2026-05-02T09:40:26","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T09:40:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/15597\/"},"modified":"2026-05-02T09:40:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T09:40:26","slug":"raphinha-at-risk-of-missing-el-clasico-vs-real-madrid-despite-recovering-from-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/15597\/","title":{"rendered":"Raphinha at risk of missing El Clasico vs Real Madrid despite recovering from injury"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-testid=\"paragraph\" class=\"mb-[20px] md:mb-[30px] break-word\">Barcelona are on the verge of securing the La Liga title, something that could happen next week in El Clasico against Real Madrid. <a href=\"https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.com\/tag\/raphinha\/\" class=\"break-word font-articleLinkText text-articleLinkText hover:text-articleLinkTextHover hover:bg-articleLinkTextHoverBg cursor-pointer border-solid border-b-articleLinkTextHover\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Raphinha<\/a> could miss that game, but not due to fitness issues\u2014rather because of a potential suspension.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph\" class=\"mb-[20px] md:mb-[30px] break-word\">The Brazilian winger is set to return to action this weekend after a month out with a hamstring injury. He will be included in coach Hansi Flick\u2019s squad to visit Osasuna this Saturday on Matchday 35 of <a href=\"https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.com\/tag\/la-liga\/\" class=\"break-word font-articleLinkText text-articleLinkText hover:text-articleLinkTextHover hover:bg-articleLinkTextHoverBg cursor-pointer border-solid border-b-articleLinkTextHover\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">La Liga<\/a>, but he will need to be cautious.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph\" class=\"mb-[20px] md:mb-[30px] break-word\">Raphinha has accumulated four yellow cards this season and is one booking away from suspension. If he receives another yellow in any of the remaining La Liga matches this campaign, he will have to serve a one-game ban.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph\" class=\"mb-[20px] md:mb-[30px] break-word\">Considering his long absence, it is unlikely he will be part of the starting lineup this Saturday against Osasuna. However, Flick is expected to give him minutes in the second half to help him regain match fitness ahead of El Clasico against <a href=\"https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.com\/tag\/real-madrid\/\" class=\"break-word font-articleLinkText text-articleLinkText hover:text-articleLinkTextHover hover:bg-articleLinkTextHoverBg cursor-pointer border-solid border-b-articleLinkTextHover\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Real Madrid<\/a> next week\u2014something that also carries risk, as it could expose him to another booking.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Hansi-Flick-1920x1080.webp\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" alt=\"Hansi Flick, Head Coach of FC Barcelona, looks on during the Copa Del Rey Semi Final.\" class=\"h-auto\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-center mt-5 text-[14px] leading-[20px] font-normal\">Hansi Flick, Head Coach of FC Barcelona.<\/p>\n<p>Barcelona need Raphinha<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph\" class=\"mb-[20px] md:mb-[30px] break-word\">While the La Liga title appears all but secured for <a href=\"https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.com\/tag\/barcelona\/\" class=\"break-word font-articleLinkText text-articleLinkText hover:text-articleLinkTextHover hover:bg-articleLinkTextHoverBg cursor-pointer border-solid border-b-articleLinkTextHover\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Barcelona<\/a>, they know they cannot afford to relax. And even if they clinch the trophy, El Clasico is a challenge significant enough on its own to demand full focus.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Lamine Yamal injury update: Barcelona coach Flick shares good news ahead of 2026 World Cup\" href=\"https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.com\/world-cup\/lamine-yamal-injury-update-barcelona-coach-flick-shares-good-news-ahead-of-2026-world-cup\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" class=\"article-also-read-embed\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aspect-square max-w-[100px] m-[10px] md:m-0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/flick-200x200.webp\" alt=\"Lamine Yamal injury update: Barcelona coach Flick shares good news ahead of 2026 World Cup\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-secondary my-[13px] uppercase text-alsoReadSeeAlso bg-alsoReadSeeAlsoBackground alsoReadSeeAlso w-fit\">see also<\/p>\n<p class=\"w-full line-clamp-3 md:line-clamp-2 text-alsoReadEmbedTitle font-primary alsoReadLink\">Lamine Yamal injury update: Barcelona coach Flick shares good news ahead of 2026 World Cup<\/p>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph\" class=\"mb-[20px] md:mb-[30px] break-word\">That is why having Raphinha back is so important. He has been one of the team\u2019s most decisive attacking players, and his role becomes even more crucial given Lamine Yamal\u2019s absence due to injury.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph\" class=\"mb-[20px] md:mb-[30px] break-word\">Raphinha has been out of action since March 26, when he suffered a hamstring injury during Brazil\u2019s friendly match against France over the international break. Since then, he has undergone a recovery process that kept him sidelined for more than a month, missing four La Liga matches and the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal series against Atletico Madrid.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"La Liga 2026 TV Schedule USA and Streaming Links\" href=\"https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.com\/la-liga-tv-schedule\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" class=\"article-also-read-embed\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aspect-square max-w-[100px] m-[10px] md:m-0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/TVSchedules_LaLiga-200x200.webp\" alt=\"La Liga 2026 TV Schedule USA and Streaming Links\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-secondary my-[13px] uppercase text-alsoReadSeeAlso bg-alsoReadSeeAlsoBackground alsoReadSeeAlso w-fit\">see also<\/p>\n<p class=\"w-full line-clamp-3 md:line-clamp-2 text-alsoReadEmbedTitle font-primary alsoReadLink\">La Liga 2026 TV Schedule USA and Streaming Links<\/p>\n<p><\/a>Real Madrid prioritize El Clasico<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph\" class=\"mb-[20px] md:mb-[30px] break-word\">While Barcelona must take Saturday\u2019s match against Osasuna seriously in their push to secure the La Liga title, Real Madrid know their main objective lies next week in El Clasico. As a result, their squad will be missing several key players this Sunday against Espanyol.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph\" class=\"break-word\">Head coach Alvaro Arbeloa will not risk some important players dealing with fitness issues, prioritizing their readiness for the match against Barcelona. Kylian Mbappe and Thibaut Courtois have been ruled out for Sunday but are expected to be in optimal condition for El Clasico.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Barcelona are on the verge of securing the La Liga title, something that could happen next week in&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15598,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[92,301,82,94,83],"class_list":{"0":"post-15597","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-madrid","8":"tag-barcelona","9":"tag-la-liga","10":"tag-madrid","11":"tag-raphinha","12":"tag-real-madrid"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15597"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15597\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}