Barcelona Hit Hard As Raphinha And Joan Garcia Join Growing Injury List

‎Barcelona were hit with a double setback on Friday as winger Raphinha and goalkeeper Joan Garcia were ruled out of action.

‎Both players will miss several upcoming fixtures, including next week’s Champions League match with Paris Saint-Germain.

‎Raphinha suffered a hamstring injury during Barcelona’s 3-1 La Liga victory over Real Oviedo on Thursday. The Brazilian international is expected to be sidelined for around three weeks, the club confirmed.

‎Spanish stopper Garcia, meanwhile, suffered a meniscus injury in his left knee and the club said he will miss “between four and six weeks”.

‎Garcia is set to be replaced in goal by Polish veteran Wojciech Szczesny, with Marc-Andre ter Stegen also recovering from a back operation.

‎Raphinha is expected to return for Barcelona’s clash with Real Madrid on October 26, but Garcia will only be available if his injury heals sooner than the initial recovery timeline.

‎Barcelona should have winger Lamine Yamal back for Sunday’s league match against Real Sociedad after a groin injury.

‎”Hey! I’m back,” wrote the teenage star in a post on Instagram, alluding to his return to action after missing the team’s last four games.

‎Barcelona sits two points behind La Liga leaders Real Madrid and kicked off their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 victory over Newcastle.