Barcelona suffer double injury concern during Elche victory

Originally posted on Football Espana | By John Menzies | Last updated Jan 31, 2026 6:59 PM ET

Barcelona won 3-1 at Elche on Saturday, and while it was an impressive result, it was not a perfect night for the La Liga leaders. They were forced to replace two of their starters due to physical problems, which is a concern ahead of a gruelling set of fixtures over the upcoming weeks.

At half time, Raphinha was taken off and replaced by Marcus Rashford, who would go on to score Barcelona’s third goal of the evening. In the later stages of the contest, Jules Kounde also had to be substituted after appearing to suffer a muscle problem, which led to an appearance for Ronald Araujo.

Both players have been key for Barcelona this season, which is why Hansi Flick will not want to lose either. Fortunately, there is hope that neither case is serious, with Marca reporting that the pair are only suffering with discomfort.

Raphinha’s half time change was done solely as a precaution, and it is believed that the Brazilian winger does not have any injury. As for Kounde, the fact that he was able to move around freely at the end of the match suggests that he is also okay, although he may not be risked against Albacete in midweek.

Barcelona cannot afford more injury problems

The season so far has seen many injury woes for Barcelona, who are already without star midfielder Pedri at the moment. Raphinha also missed six weeks of action earlier in the campaign, so the first team staff are aware that he must be managed very carefully in order to avoid any further issues.

It remains to be seen what the official word is from Barcelona regarding both of these cases, but right now, the feeling is that neither player will be out for a significant period of time – if ay time at all.

This article first appeared on Football Espana and was syndicated with permission.

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