Raphinha’s tentative return date revealed after suffering injury during Brazil’s pre-World Cup friendlies

Raphinha’s return date points to El Clasico target after Brazil injury

The latest timeline has come into focus through an update shared by Fabrizio Romano, which narrowed attention around when Raphinha could realistically be back.

The key detail is that Barcelona are now working around a specific objective rather than a vague recovery window.

Romano wrote, “Raphinha, back in Barcelona today after spending a week in Brazil following his injury. His mission is to be back for El Clásico on May 10, as Raphinha will be out for four more weeks.”

That gives Barcelona a date to aim for, even if it remains tentative. It also underlines how serious the injury was, because the club is still looking at another month without one of its most important wide players.

Raphinha’s Brazil injury left Barcelona dealing with another major setback

The wider concern comes from how the injury happened and what it cost Barcelona at this stage of the season.

Raphinha suffered a hamstring injury while playing for Brazil in a friendly defeat to France, with the winger withdrawn at half-time before later reporting pointed to a recovery period of roughly five weeks.

That matters because this was not a minor knock picked up late in a match. It was an international duty setback that immediately took an in-form attacker out of Barcelona’s plans during a crucial stretch.

The reaction around the injury also reflected that frustration, with attention quickly turning to fixture congestion and the risk clubs take when key players are involved in friendlies so close to major domestic and European matches.

So while the May 10 target offers some encouragement, the bigger issue for Barcelona is that Brazil duty has already cost them a player they can ill afford to lose.