Barcelona’s La Liga Lead Restored with Hard-Fought 1-0 Victory Over Sevilla

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Barcelona reclaimed the top spot in the La Liga standings thanks to a narrow 1-0 win over Sevilla on Friday night, but it came at some cost.

Having seen Frenkie de Jong sustain an injury last weekend against Celta Vigo, Barcelona lost another important player in the form of Raphinha to an injury on Friday night versus Sevilla.

The 26-year-old winger went down clutching his thigh a little after the half-hour mark and was soon subbed off, with Fermin Lopez taking his place in the team.

Raphinha to miss the next four matches

Following his injury, Toni Juanmarti of SPORT has come out with the scoop regarding Raphinha’s possible return and the number of matches he will likely miss.

The Brazilian international is understood to have injured the femoral biceps in his right leg and even though more tests will be conducted, early signs indicate he could be out for the next month.

Indeed, as per the report, Raphinha will be ruled out of the upcoming matches against FC Porto in the UEFA Champions League and Granada in La Liga in early October.

The international break will follow then and the winger will then miss the next couple of matches against Athletic Club and Shakhtar Donetsk as well.

Raphinha’s return for El Clasico

At this point, it is expected that Raphinha will be returning from his injury in time to face arch-rivals Real Madrid in the Clasico on October 28.

Barcelona will lock horns with Los Blancos at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in their final match of October and that is when Raphinha’s return is anticipated at this point.

The winger’s absence in the next few games will be a blow considering that he had shown good form in recent matches. But having him back just in time for El Clasico will be seen as a boost.

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