Barcelona president Joan Laporta has hit out at FIFA’s “outrageously tight schedules” after seeing Blaugrana skipper Raphinha ruled out for five weeks with a hamstring injury picked up while on international duties with Brazil.
Raphinha suffered an injury to his right hamstring while in action for La Selecao against France during the March international break, and the 29-year-old forward is now condemned to the sidelines for the entirety of April and the start of May as he looks to work his way back to full recovery.
Reacting to the situation, Laporta couldn’t hide his frustrations as he criticised FIFA for what he believes to be an unnecessarily packed schedule that has now cost Barcelona one of their most important stars at a very crucial stage of the season.
“It’s really frustrating when one of your best players gets injured in a friendly,” he told Mon Esport, per Barca Blaugranes.
“You can’t shift the blame onto the player because he’s a professional, and he plays for his country and is obligated to give his all.
“It’s outrageous that FIFA sets such tight schedules and doesn’t take official competitions into account.”
Laporta’s outrage is understandable given the potential ramifications of Raphinha’s latest setback for Hansi Flick’s side as they look to successfully navigate the latter stages of the UEFA Champions League while warding off competition from Real Madrid at the summit of La Liga.
Raphinha is expected to miss really important games while rooted to the treatment table in the coming weeks, including Barcelona’s upcoming Champions League quarterfinal with Atletico Madrid, a potential semifinal against either Arsenal or Sporting Lisbon and a string of La Liga games that could prove decisive in the title race with Real Madrid.
The Brazil international has been Barca’s second highest contributor of goals and assists this season, with his 19 strikes across all competitions eclipsed only by superstar teenager Lamine Yamal, who has scored 21 times.
Manchester United loanee Marcus Rashford will most likely now be tasked with producing the goods alongside Yamal and the rest of the Barcelona attack in Raphinha’s absence, and these next few weeks could potentially help the Blaugrana hierarchy make up their minds on whether or not to trigger the Englishman’s buy-option clause this summer.
