Why isn’t Raphinha playing for Barcelona against Athletic Club in the Copa del Rey?

Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernández will be desperately hoping his team has turned a corner following Sunday’s impressive 4-2 victory away to Real Betis in LaLiga, which has been somewhat overshadowed by the VAR controversy that took place in Real Madrid’s dramatic win over Almería a few hours earlier.

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Six wins in seven games for Barça

The Catalans have actually won six of their last seven competitive games, although two of those were unconvincing triumphs over lower league opposition in the Copa del Rey, while a couple of others - against Almería and Las Palmas - were barely deserved. On top of that, the one match they didn’t win in that run was a 4-1 Spanish Super Cup final thrashing at the hands of Clásico rivals Madrid.

The victory in Seville are a timely boost ahead of a tough-looking cup quarter-final away to Athletic Club, who were undefeated in 14 games before losing to Valencia at the weekend.

Pedri and Cancelo back, ter Stegen recovering

Despite Pedri being back somewhere near full fitness after ongoing muscle problems and João Cancelo also returning to the matchday squad following a recent injury, Xavi still has a few absentees to contend with, which has been the case for the majority of the season.

Long-term injury victim Gavi isn’t expected to feature again in 2023-24 and also looks set to miss the 2024 European Championship in the summer, while first-choice goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen revealed on Monday night he could be back in action after a back injury in around two weeks’ time, 10 days before the first leg of the Champions League Round-of-16 tie against Napoli on 21 February.

A muscle issue forced centre-back Iñigo Martínez off in the Copa del Rey win over fourth-tier Barbastro on 7 January and he is also set for a February return, while the most recent injury victim is Brazilian winger Raphinha, who will be the final absentee in the Basque Country.

What injury does Raphinha have? How long will he be out?

The 27-year-old has found himself in and out of the team in an inconsistent first half of the season, during which he has made 20 appearances (13 starts) in all competitions, scoring four goals and setting up seven more. He was in Xavi’s lineup for the Spanish Super Cup semi-final win against Osasuna on 11 January but had to go off just before half time, with Barça confirming the following day he has suffered a (left) hamstring injury.

The club themselves haven’t officially stated how long they expect Raphinha to be out for, although Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo reported the attacker isn’t certain to be involved in the aforementioned Champions League tie against Napoli (21 February), but that fixture has been set as a target for his return.

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