Barcelona‘s Raphinha says he will do everything within his power to play again at the World Cup this summer, with the Brazil forward set to miss Wednesday’s final Group C game against Scotland in Miami.
Raphinha, 29, injured his hamstring in Brazil’s 3-0 win against Haiti last weekend and faces a race against time to feature again at the tournament in North America.
ESPN Brasil report his current aim is to return for a potential round of 16 game, ruling him out of the fixture with Scotland and the Seleção’s round-of-32 match, although a quarterfinal comeback may be more realistic.
“I always demand a lot from myself and work every day to improve — that will never change,” Raphinha posted on social media.
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“I will do everything within my power to recover and return as soon as possible. I want to be alongside my teammates, fight for our goals and keep giving everything I have to honour this shirt and bring joy to the Brazilian fans. I’m staying strong.”
Bournemouth winger Rayan replaced Raphinha against Haiti and coach Carlo Ancelotti says he has a “clear idea” how to line up without the Barça winger against Scotland.
In addition to Rayan, other options include bringing in Arsenal‘s Gabriel Martinelli, while Santos’ Neymar is also available again after missing Brazil’s first two games at the World Cup through injury.
This is the fourth hamstring problem Raphinha has suffered in the past year, during which time he has missed 24 games for club and country.
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After sitting out Barça’s Champions League exit to Atlético Madrid in April, he returned to action in May, making two appearances at the end of the campaign for the Spanish champions and scoring two goals.
He then featured in friendlies against Panama and Egypt for Brazil before playing 90 minutes in the 1-1 draw with Morocco in his country’s opening game at the World Cup.
However, he lasted just 40 minutes against Haiti, having to be taken off before the break as a brace from Matheus Cunha and a Vinícius Júnior goal secured Brazil’s first win of the finals.
