Barcelona investigates the Raphinha mystery with Brazil

Barcelona's officials want to speak with Raphinha to understand the causes of his three most recent injuries, all picked up during spells with the Brazilian national team.

The striking part? All three struck in the same spot: the thigh of his right leg.

According to Mundo Deportivo, the club's physical staff will sit down with the player before or after his medical examinations to find out whether a recurring pattern in training or warm-up routines lies behind the problems, particularly whether the methods he follows with Brazil differ from his daily work at Barcelona.

Raphinha began the season in blistering form with the Catalan side, coinciding with Benjamin Kugel's arrival as the new physical trainer. The moment he linked up with Brazil, though, the muscular trouble returned, even if it does not appear serious for now.

Carlo Ancelotti handed him 90 minutes last Friday against Australia. He was the only forward to play the full match after a long journey, and the Italian coach then named him in the starting line-up again last Tuesday in Melbourne.

His first injury of 2026 arrived at the end of March. Raphinha damaged the hamstring of his right knee during a friendly in Boston against France, ruling him out of the Champions League quarter-final against Atletico Madrid, who went on to knock Barcelona out.

Trouble struck again on 20 June, when he felt pain in the hamstring of his right thigh during Brazil's second World Cup match against Haiti.

He sat out the following two games against Scotland and Japan. In the round of 16 against Norway he was named on the bench after being passed fit, yet never set foot on the pitch.

Now Raphinha comes back from Australia with another physical problem. Stopping the pattern repeating is Barcelona's biggest goal.