Why Raphinha Won't Play for Barcelona vs. Osasuna, Ronald Araujo Surprise Inclusion

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·26 Maret 2025

Why Raphinha Won't Play for Barcelona vs. Osasuna, Ronald Araujo Surprise Inclusion

Barcelona kick off the return of La Liga play after the March international break taking on Osasuna at home.

A win would see the Catalans open up a three-point lead over Real Madrid in the title race with just 10 games to go in the season. It would also avenge a crushing 4-2 defeat last time these two teams faced in La Liga. Though, this Barcelona side has hit a different level under Hansi Flick since then thanks to stellar play from, possibly, the Ballon d'Or favorite: Raphinha.

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Hansi Flick faces an uphill challenge given the amount of players set to miss the game. Marc Casado and Pau Cubarsi are injured while both Raphinha and Ronald Araujo were question marks after not being released by their international teams until late Tuesday.

Why Raphinha Won't Play for Barcelona vs. Osasuna, Ronald Araujo Surprise Inclusion

Flick had announced in his pre-match press conference that both Raphinha and Araujo will be absent. Both players were with their international teams, Brazil and Uruguay respectively, on Tuesday. As such, Flick wanted to keep both players out of the squad to give them ample time to recover. Though, there's been a slight change on game day.

Araujo was named as a surprise inclusion despite the lack of rest. He did not feature against Bolivia on Tuesday, but still the question of travel and different time zones put his availability in doubt. Still, the Uruguayan pushed to be available and Flick changed his mind naming him to Thursday's squad.

The good news for Barcelona fans is that they should both be available for Sunday's game against Girona.

For Raphinha, Barcelona will likely call on Ferran Torres. There is available depth, but it's a bigger void to fill given the Brazilian's form this season. Raphinha has 23 goal contributions in La Liga alone across 27 appearances. He's got another 16 contributions in 10 UEFA Champions League games.

Torres will be in fine form having scored twice off the bench against Atletico Madrid last time out, so Flick will look for the ex-Manchester City man to help with the attacking responsibilities.