Raphinha said he is recovering from injury and is not yet at one hundred percent, with Barcelona and Brazil already aligned on a cautious plan for his time on the pitch. He is in Singapore for the international break, where Brazil face Japan on Saturday 14 November and the host team next Tuesday the 17th at the Singapore National Stadium in the Mizuho Blue Challenge, The Kallang Football Series.

Raphinha's own view on his fitness

The winger put it plainly in comments to Estadio Deportivo, translated from Spanish: "Ancelotti as a coach knows that he has to distribute minutes. An injury, also for Brazil, would not come at my best physical moment. We have spoken. I am recovering from an injury. I am very good, but not at one hundred percent."

That lines up with his output for Barcelona. He has 15 La Liga goals in 11 league appearances and 19 goals in all competitions in 14 appearances, plus 3 assists. Those numbers explain why the club are keen to avoid piling on more minutes than they need to.

Barcelona and Brazil are aligned on rotation

Hansi Flick was just as direct. Speaking to Estadio Deportivo, he said: "For me, if we can manage a little his playing time with Brazil, I will be happy."

Carlo Ancelotti, speaking for Brazil, added that the side should keep a similar setup for the next friendly and keep using players across different positions. He said: "I think that for the next friendly we will have the same lineup as against Australia. Endrick, Raphinha, Vini... we have to remember that we have players who can play in different positions. In the next matches, we will continue with the idea of playing with three midfielders."

Barcelona's caution also fits what has happened around Raphinha recently. He played all five of the club's last five matches, including 90 minutes against Atletico Madrid, 70 against Aston Villa, 62 against Alaves, 86 against Real Madrid and 60 against Paris Saint Germain. After a run like that, managing him in Singapore looks less like precaution for its own sake and more like common sense.

Barcelona are top of La Liga with 33 points from 12 matches, and their main attacking reference needs to come back from this break without another problem. Their next games after the international window are Villarreal, Sabah FA and Deportivo La Coruna.

Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 4 outlets. How we work →