An insight into the plans of Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick for star attacker Raphinha in the club’s upcoming meeting with Real Betis has come to the fore online.
This comes amid the understanding that the Brazilian will play his part, but off the bench.
Frontman Raphinha was for his part forced to sit out each of Barcelona’s last two fixtures, against Getafe and Galatasaray respectively, owing to an injury setback suffered whilst on international duty with Brazil.
The 29-year-old has spent the week to date ramping up his recovery, finally given the green light to rejoin group training at the Ciutat Esportiva on Friday morning.
Hansi Flick and his staff, though, are understandably keen not to rush Raphinha back into a starting role too quickly. As per a report from Blaugrana insider Javier Miguel of Diario AS:
‘Flick’s plan is for him to play between 15 and 20 minutes this Saturday, with the aim of starting him on Tuesday in Paris.’
Barca are primed to lock horns with Manuel Pellegrini’s high-flying Real Betis in a La Liga clash tomorrow evening, before turning focus back towards matters on the continent in a Champions League meeting with reigning holders Paris Saint-Germain in France’s capital next week.
Conor Laird – GSFN
