Barcelona endured a heavy night as they were beaten 4-0 by Atlético Madrid in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final. The Catalans were far from their best, a situation worsened by the absence of key figures such as Raphinha and Pedri.
There is, however, encouraging news regarding one of those absentees. According to Mundo Deportivo, Raphinha has returned to on-pitch training. The Brazilian was withdrawn at half-time in the match against Elche and subsequently missed the games against Albacete, Mallorca and Atlético Madrid as he worked on his recovery.
An initial recovery window of one week was set, with talks that he might be available for the Mallorca match, but Hansi Flick said at the time that the player's sensations were not good and that patience was needed. Now it has emerged that Raphinha has done some on-field work during the team's short recovery sessions.
Given this development, the forward is optimistic about the possibility of getting some minutes on Monday against Girona in the Catalan derby. So far this season he has appeared in 22 matches across all competitions, scoring 13 goals and registering five assists. He has missed more than 40% of the team’s games due to injury and will be keen to return as soon as possible.
