Raphinha to miss Brazil clash with India as Barcelona star suffers fresh injury setback

Raphinha has been ruled out of Brazil's upcoming friendly against India after sustaining a right thigh muscle injury. The number 10 was withdrawn at half-time and replaced by Endrick during Tuesday's 4-2 victory over Australia. Carlo Ancelotti has decided against calling up a replacement to fill the void left by his stand-in captain, as reported by ESPN Brazil.

The national team setup moved swiftly to ensure the forward's fitness would be handled directly by his club. Clarifying the winger's condition in an official statement in the early hours of Wednesday, the CBF confirmed that imaging tests revealed a muscle oedema categorised as "small". Meanwhile, Globo Esporte reported that the decision to release the forward back to Catalonia was mutually agreed as a precautionary measure to prevent further muscle damage.

Prior to his withdrawal, Raphinha converted a penalty that ended an international goal drought spanning more than 500 days. Barcelona's concerns remain elevated, however, after the Brazilian missed over 150 days following four separate right thigh injuries last season, including an enforced exit against Haiti at the World Cup.

Preserving his fitness is now a major priority for the Catalan giants following his blistering start of 12 domestic league goals and a Champions League brace against Feyenoord.

Brazil hold one last training session in Brisbane before departing for Kolkata ahead of Saturday's match with India. The forward's withdrawal adds to Ancelotti's selection headaches following earlier injuries to Joao Pedro and Wesley. Back in Spain, Barcelona are left sweating on their key attacker's readiness for their La Liga meeting with Getafe on October 10.