Barcelona's fears turned into painful reality. Brazilian forward Raphinha suffered muscular discomfort while playing for his national team against Australia, leaving the pitch at the start of the second half in a worrying blow to the Catalan club, who had feared their star picking up an injury during the international break.
According to a statement from the Brazilian Federation, the Seleção captain left the pitch after feeling "discomfort in his right thigh", though the nature of the injury and its severity remain unclear.
Carlo Ancelotti responded by sending on Endrick at the start of the second half. Raphinha had finished the first half in perfect fashion, scoring Brazil's second goal from a penalty in the 45th minute to make it 2-2.
His exit comes at an extremely sensitive time for Barcelona. The player's physical condition had specifically worried the club before the current break began.
"Marca" revealed days ago that Barcelona had been paying close attention to Raphinha because of his exceptional level this season, on top of a gruelling trip with the Brazilian national team taking in matches in Australia and India, along with the long hours of travel and physical fatigue that come with it.
The newspaper explained that Raphinha had returned from previous international breaks with physical problems, which made Barcelona treat his current call-up with greater concern.
Those fears were hardly baseless. Brazilian reports before the break indicated Raphinha had been injured during his last two call-ups with the national team.
Last March, the Barcelona winger suffered a muscular injury during the match between Brazil and France. He was forced to leave the national team camp and return to Barcelona, then spent five weeks on the sidelines.
Raphinha also suffered an injury to the back of his right thigh during the last World Cup in the match between Brazil and Haiti, an injury that kept him out of two national team matches. The "GE" website, affiliated with "Globo", confirmed at the time that the tests proved a muscular injury in the right thigh, and also indicated that the player had suffered several problems in the same area during the previous period.
Will Raphinha be absent from Barcelona?
There is no final diagnosis so far on the nature of Raphinha's injury or the length of his absence, with "Globo" describing the case as minor discomfort in the right thigh.
What makes the situation so delicate is Raphinha's exceptional start to the season. He has scored 14 goals in his first 8 matches with Barcelona, according to reports that preceded the international break, making him one of the team's most prominent and influential players.
Hansi Flick had admitted before the break that watching his Barcelona players leave for their national teams worried him. He feels concerned every time they go, he said, and tries to deal with it positively and trust the national teams' technical staff.
Barcelona now await the medical tests Raphinha will undergo, to find out whether it is merely a passing discomfort or a new muscular injury that could threaten his return to the Catalan side after the international break.
His injury becomes all the more sensitive given the legendary start he is enjoying with Barcelona this season. The Brazilian transformed from a winger into a striker to produce the best goalscoring start in the club's history during his first eight official matches, scoring 14 goals, including 12 in the first seven rounds of the Spanish league.